To run or not to run
by Zebu the Cow
Summary: Leo Valdez is an orphan that is constantly on the run from his foster families. His most recent escape brought him to New York, the place where his life truly begins. This is the place where he settles down, goes to a school, and makes friends, but everything is about to get confusing for him. Note there will be no mythological stuff. Rated T cuz I don't know other's standards
1. Prologue

Leo POV

Running. That was one thing I was good at. For years I have been running, running from my past, from the death of my mother. Now I was running from the present, the soon to be past, I was running from the cruelty of my foster family. "Leo! Get back here!" The voice of my current foster parents tore through my thoughts. Instead of stopping, I started to run faster and faster. Finally, after hours of running, the train station came into view. As I neared the tracks, the sound of tires got closer and closer to me, I could already see the headlights. When I got to the tracks, one of the freight trains were just about to leave. With all the strength I could muster, which is to say not a lot, I jumped onto one of the open carts(don't ask me why it's open, they just always seem to be open in the movies). I looked back at the train station, making out the silhouettes of a couple, staring at me, as their figures became smaller and smaller, then eventually disappeared, as the train sped to New York.

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**A/N: This is just the prologue and I want to see if anyone is interested. If you are interested, please review! Reviews motivate me to write more and better! Will be updating when I surpass an amount of views and a few reviews. Please help me thanks! 3**


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

I sat up startled when I heard the train come to a screeching halt. Quickly, I rolled off the train cart and made a run for it. "Hey! Kid, come back here!" I heard a man shout the oh, so, familiar command. Without stopping to taunt him, which I usually enjoy, I kept on running. Thankfully my boyd was small, so when I ran into the trees and dove into a bush, no one could see or hear me jump in. After I jumped in, I glared through the branches, trying to make out the moving shadows. Countless times I almost thought I would be caught, and each time, my breathing would involuntarily cease. After about half an hour of hiding, the man gave up and went back to five minutes after he left, I slowly crept out and walked casually down the road to the city.

I always liked cities. A year ago when I was twelve, the only reason I alluded the cops for so long was because the city is a confusing place. As I wandered the streets wondering where to go, the day started to turn into night, and my stomach demanded to be nourished. I walked into a convenient store and pretended to be looking for something. When I thought no one was looking at me, I swiped a bag of chips and started to leave. Unfortunately my hunger distracted me from the man who just so happened to look my way.

"Kid, why would you steal these chips and where are your parents?" The man asked gruffly.

"I was hungry and my parents are poor." I mumbled in reply, trying to mask the lie using an honest tone, but unfortunately this man was smart and he instantly saw through my lie. "You're an orphan, right?" Seeing my startled look compelled him to continue, "Well, I'm sending you to Social Services." With that, he dragged me to the nearest police station.

After the man left me there, a young police man locked me in a room and left, probably to call Social Services. A few minutes later, an impeccably dressed man walked in. The man in the suit sat down and started asking me questions.

"Where are your parents?" He asked with a sense of authority.

"Dead." I answered brusquely, not wanting to lie to this man as he seems to be used to having authority and is could at discerning lies.

"Why aren't you in an orphanage or foster home?"

"I ran, obviously"

"I do know that," he looked at me annoyed, "but why?"

"I- I felt unwanted and unloved." I replied, tears welling up. I mean, I'm just a kid! Why am I treated like trash? These thoughts went through my head as I remembered previous abusive foster parents. The dark emotions still gnawed at my heart. Each time I ran, it got better, but when I Get sent to a new foster home, the dark emotions start to devour me. Remembering all my previous pains was too much for me and I broke apart, tears flooding out of my eyes like a dam with a hole in it. For a second, the man's face softened, and he said in a sympathetic manner, "Come with me kiddo, I'll make sure you get sent to a place where people will love and care for you." He wrapped his arms around me comforting me, and guided me to my new life.

"Saint Mark's Orphanage" read the sign, as I peered at the depressing looking building. Seeing the despair on my face the man, Thomas Kingsley, said, "Don't worry Leo, looks don't matter it's what inside that matters." When we walked in, I was shocked, but it wasn't because it was magnificient. In, fact, it was the opposite. Seems like you could judge a book by its cover, I thought, as I looked at the worn furnitures and the depressed looking children, milling about like mindless zombies. Anger swelled in me as I whirled sround to scream the the deceptive man, but instead, another man stood in his place.

"Where-" I began to ask, only to be stopped but his annoyed look, as if he had dealt with one too any kids in his life time. Knowing I had nothing to do, I allowed him to steer me to the office of the head of the orphanage. As I walked, a new feeling blossomed in my heart: Defeat.

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**A/N:** Sorry for the short chapter Don't kill me I have candy Anyways, the reasons behind these short chapters is that I'm having writer's block, and 2, my exams are coming up(I live in Taiwan, different schedule) and I'm going to Singapore for the globals of WSC next week. Sorry fo the short chapters, esp_cecially to you, rock legend 166. Enjoy Review Thanks_


	3. Update: Apologies!

I'm quite busy lately since my exams are coming up and I'm going to Singapore for te whole of next week for the global rounds of WSC so I won't be updating for a while. I'm terribly sorry for the inconvenience please don't kill me :( Thank your for the support I love ya'll 3


	4. Chapter 2

**A/N: Now, I said I have exams, but I like writing this story too much XD well, tomorrow is the last day of my exams and then I'm leaving for Singapore next Monday for WSC thank you for the continuign support ya'll. Love you and enjoy :D**

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Chapter 2

Tinkering. That's the only thing I know I'm good at. It probably began when I lived in my first foster home, which was six years ago. At that time I was six, and I was constantly bullied by foster-siblings. And so, I smuggled a car battery and attached it onto my door knob with two wires. That goodness the battery belonged to an older car and didn't carry that much electricity. When Simon, the oldest of my so-called siblings, attempted to open the door, he was knocked unconcious and lost part of his eyesight(For those of you doubting me, yes electrical shocks can bamke you lose your eyesight, but in this case, Simon only lost some). Of course the family pressed charges against me but I was a kid so I got off easy and was sent away to attend a juvenile correction facility for three months. Not only did this not stop me from tinkering, it encouraged me. You see, I was never a person who had real friends, so the only friends I had were the things I created. The twist in this is that my creations never disappointed me, and if they do, it'll be because I did something wrong. Now, my hands are so nimble that I can create little toys without even looking at it. Everything is done by my subconciousness.

"What's this Valdez?" I heard an older boy called Dylan smirk, as he swatted the toy I made out of my hands. I'm not really sure what it was, but it consisted of a bottlecap, paperclip, and a small rubberband.

"Aww, come on Dylan, it's clearly a toy. A big boy like you should know this." I teased him. Word of advice: Never say that to a boy who is basically running the orphanage because the adults couldn't care less about you. It took a long time to wash the dog poop out of my hair. When I finished, I quickly ran up a tree and hid there. I sat there, pondering about why this was all happening to me, and hoping school can start so I don't have to stay in this hell hole.

Another word of advice: Never hope for school to start if you are me. For the millionth time, I was extricating myself from a trashcan. My ADHD and dyslexia made the boring lectures and reading textbooks feel like someone force fed me a dozen cups of coffee and tied me to a chair. Everytime my fingers started tapping the table lightning fast, the teacher would glare at me as if I an annoying bit of food stuck between his teeth he couldn't get out. Ahh... Finally, class has ended and now it's lunch time! It can't be that bad right? I mean everyone's eating. Wrong. If anything, it was worse, in a mental way. I sat alone at a table, not that I cared, but the thing was I could hear people talking about me. My weird looks and a tendency to fiddle with anything. I also heard a few insulting phrases floating about the zoo of a cafeteria, such as "Santa's Mexican Elf"(I'm Texan!) or "The Latino Dobby". All in all it was horrible. What made it worse were the popular kids. They act high and mighty as if good looks and being athletic oculd get you anywhere. Psh, in a decade or two, they would be begging to work for me! I would own the largest machine shop! I will have stores in more than a hundred countries! Unfortunately, that was all wishful thinking, and I'm currently stuck in 6th grade. Suddenly, two of the so-called popular kids stood up and walked towards my table. I hunched my back and cast my eyes down towards my food, hoping that that'll somehow make me invisible. For a second I thought it actually worked. I looked up not believing how stupid or blind they were when I realized they were sitting right across form me, smiling. One was a blond boy with sharp blue eyes, and the other was a pretty brunnette girl with impossibly beautiful eyes that seemed to shift in colors depending on how the light reflected. I braced myself as I prepared for them to exert some kind of sixth grade style torture upon me, but instead they introduced themselves.

"I'm Jason Grace" The blond guy said, smiling.

"I'm Piper McLean" The pretty brown-haired girl said, also smiling.

"Leo Valdez," I mumbled in reply, "what are you doing here, away from your group of popular buddies?" Hey, it's not that I don't want friends, it's just that I'm curious.

"Oh, I'm not popular at all, but Jason here is, and we just didn't want you to be lonely, everyone needs human contact." Piper answered me, laughing whilst saying it.

"Oh come on you're really likable." Jason said, lightly punching her in the arm. All this happened while I watched them sadly, wondering how other people made friends. Tears must've started clouding my eyes since Piper looked at me in a concerned way. Instantly, I pretended I was yawning and swiped at my eyes and put up a smile, letting my social defence mechanism, humor, kick in, "So what brings you to the Mexican elf's workshop? Have you been good this year? I sure as hell wouldn't want to squander my talents on preparing coal!" I looked at them cheerfully. Though my tone of voice was cheerfulness, my eyes gave my act away as they were probably filled with the sadness that had sprout from within my heart over the past years.

"Leo, is something wrong? Why do you seem sad? Why are you covering it up?" Piper inquered, peering at me, concerned. After all those years of beign alone, sad, friendless, and unwanted, one simple sign of care and friendship cracked my depression-weakened chest open like a brittle peanut and spilled my heart out(A/N Disgusting simile and imagery? Tell me in the reviews XD). I told them everything. Starting with my single mother dying in a fire I had accidentally cause whil playign with a blow torch. How my Aunt Rosa turned emy family against me. How I found my love for tikering. How I ran from foster home to foster home. Finally, how my most recent escape brought me to New York. After dissecting myself and laying out bits of myself for them to see and understand(A/N Ok maybe this was a step to far in terms of imagery :P Remeber to tell me what you think of my imagery in the reviews!), I was suddenly embarrassed. Thank goodness the bell decided to ring at that exact moment and I rushed towards the cafetaria door, shame written all over my face.

During the last few periods, the class seemed especially long. When the school finally ended, I made my way towards the school gates. As I rounded a corner, someone grabbed my shoulder and pulled me into a stall. "Hey there little Leo, little Dobby." My captor, Jerry the biggest bully, smirked, as my ears twitched at the mockery of their slightly pointed tips. "Think I'll let you get away without a special treatment?" He asked as he stuffed my head into a toilet that surprisingly still had it's contents. I desperately tried to get up, as I was runnig out of breath, but instead, I sputtered and accidentally swallowed some of the yellow liquid. Thank goodness the brown blobs of human feces didn't decide to join the free Leo Valdez's Pool Party. Just as I felt like Ioculdn't hold my breath any longer, the pressure on the back of my head lessened by a substantial amount. I quickly got up, tore the toilet paper from the roll, and turned to see who my savior was. The scene before me schocked me: I saw the popular Jason Grace fighting Jerry, who just so happens to be our basketball captain andwas extremely muscular. I couldn't believe someone would actually fight for me. I watched as Jason fought with... well... grace as he blocked blow after blow from the mountain of an eighth grader. After a few more blocks, Jason grabbed Jerry's arm and used hisown momentum to spin him arond and slamed him into a urinal, knocking him unconcious. I stood there, in awe of Jason's fighting skills, as he grabbed my hand and dragged me outside.

"Are you alright, Leo?" Piper frantically asked as the bus bumped up and down.

"Yeah, I'm cool, thanks for saving me from that jerk and waiting for me to tidy up, Jason." I said thankfully, still shocked that he would do such a thing for me.

"Hey anything for a friend." He replied smiling. When he said that, emotions welled up in me as I digested what he just said. Finally, my eyes broke like a dam and tears came pouring out. My new friends quickly embraced me, calming me down. At last there are people who care for me after my mom died. At last, my daysof lonliness are over. Maybe Ican finally crawl out of my miserable shell and actually make friends. I sniffed and happily looking out the window as the sun peeked out of the clouds, reflecting my mood. Happiness flowed throughout my body as I sat with Jason and Piper. Therewas another emotion that was coursing through my body, an emotion that I locked up long ago, an emotion I have forgotten about: Love.

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**A/N: Thank you all for the support and views! Though this story is not popular, I enjoy writing it! If you really like it, it'll be real great if you could introduce others to this fanfic. Not that you have to of course, but hey, others might like it and this story will only get better and better with the community's help! Thank you!**

rock legend 166: Thank you so much for sticking through these chapters It means a lot to me! Don't worry, he got what he deserves, finally XD. You are by far the first person to take a likign in my stories and stuck with it, and for that thank you!

Guest: Thank you so much! You're amazing, too :D Your review meant a lot to me I couldn't ask for more!


	5. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thank you all for support me! I'm sorry for the long wait, but I was in Singapore and the hotel wi-fi is horrible. This chapter may not be really good because I was having a competition that week. When I wrote this, I kind of forced it and I'm sorry. R&R if it's bad, please tell me but don't stop reading just because of that, I'll start writing better ones, I swear! Thanks :D**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO, (Why do people even do this? Please tell me in the comments, I'm stupid :P)**

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Chapter 3

BRRRIIINNNNNNNGGGGGGGGG! The sound of the bell signaled the end of the day, the last day of school. Jason, Piper, and I quickly rushed out.

"So, where are we going to go to celebrate the last day of sixth grade?" I asked excitedly. After fighting between the amusement park or machine shop(Leo: Shut up, don't even ask. **Me: You're grounded :3)**. Unfortunately, we went to the amusement park. Sure I like amusement parks, but as a mechanic seeing a even slightly not-properly-cared-for-ride really scares me. I mean seriously, I'm in sixth grade and even I know you should add one more beam or else this thing might collapse due to the… never mind, on with the story. Despite being scared of the poorly designed rides, I actually had lots of fun. Finally, the park closed and we had to go home. As we parted ways, I thought I saw Jason and Piper whispering to each other and turned to smile at me. Wondering what that was all about, I got on the bus to the orphanage.

When I entered the orphanage, I noticed kids glaring at me. Sure none of them liked me, but they usually don't all glare at me. They usually just beat me or push my head in the garbage can or toilet. In fact, the glaring was really unnerving. Relief almost spread over me as two boys, Jimmy and Dill slowly advanced towards me. Oh who's a good bully? Not trying to unnerve me, just going to beat me up, yay! Despite the familiarity was relieving, I still ran. Well, I never was a good athlete,I said in my mind, as the two tackled me.

"Think we're gonna let you off easily just 'cause you're leaving?" Dill snarled

"Wha- are- hurk-" I tried to stay as I was getting strangled.

"Oh, Little Leo the Elf doesn't know?" Jimmy smirked. Just as I was losing consciousness, I felt the weight on my windpipe relaxed. "Get off him you little turds before I toss you into a juvenile correction facility." Mr. Thomson growled, tossing the two imbeciles off of me and said, "Leo, you're getting adopted today."

"Wait, by who?" I inquired, startled. Never once has a teenager been adopted, as it was always the little babies that got to leave this dump. What surprised me even more was why someone would adopt me before even seeing me, and even if they did, why in the world would they choose me? Mr. Thomson's answered almost made me faint: "The Graces."

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I looked out the window as the bus took me to Jason's house. Why would Jason's Mom adopt me? I mean, she's a single mother trying to support two kids and herself. When we got there, the driver opened the gates and said in a gruff voice, "Off you go you lucky son of a gun." I nodded my thanks and walked to the front door and knocked. I stood there for a few seconds before the door was thrown open by a teenage girl with spiky black hair. "You Valdez?" She asked, brusquely. I quickly nodded yes and she turned around and shouted, "The midget new kid's here!" I cringed at her harsh comment but let it slide. I heard footsteps trod down the stairs, followed by a familiar voice, "Oh come on Thalia, he's not that short!" Jason smiled as he emerged from behind the punk girl, Thalia. "Hey Leo, you're finally here!

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Living in the Grace's family was really nice. If it was possible for Jason and I to grow closer, we did. I finally learned why they could afford to adopt me. Their mother married a man called Zeno Aigiochos, who was a rich business man. Despite having a rich stepfather, I never really got close to him as he thought I was a lower life form and the only reason he agreed to adopt me was because Mrs. Grace called begged him to because Jason begged her to. Thankfully he was constantly on business trips, sparing me from his disgust of me. Being in the care of the Grace's was a good thing for me. Jason protected me at school and I had food and a warm bed waiting for me at home. Everything went smoothly until seventh grad

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Friends: something I never knew I would ever have. Sure I did have some so-called "friends", but they weren't my real friends, more of acquaintances. On the other hand, this time Jason and Piper are two people who truly care about me. These thoughts were running through my head I as I walked into the class room of the eighth graders along with my friends. Let me tell you one thing, when I walked into the room tailing Jason and Piper, I felt happy for once and that people acknowledged my existence not because they wanted to bully me, but in retrospect, I probably looked like a creepy popular guy wannabe or stalker. Still, at that moment, I was just happy to be with my two best friends, one of which was now my brother. The three of us sat down, waiting for the teacher to come and make a roll call. I sat there, looking out the window, thinking about my mom and whether or not she would be proud of me. Slowly my eyes started to drift close, as sleep came over me like a large ethereal hand.

_BAM!_ My head cracked against my table. Hard. Groaning, I put my head between my hands and looked to my right, and there stood the one and only Jerry Clarkson, my very own bully from sixth grade.

"Ooooh… Really building up on that muscle are you?" I moaned in mock pain, the real pain passing by a few seconds ago. Hey, I have a hard head!

"Yeah, chicks dig these guns."

"Yeah… Unless it's to compensate for a smaller gun…"(**Sorry for the vulgarity but it is rated T, tell me if you mind**) I glanced at his crotch then up at him.

He glared at me as he started to advance on me. I looked at him and gulped, once again my hyperactive mouth will get the stuffing beat out of me. I frantically looked around for Jason and Piper, but both of them were no longer there. I was alone now. After these years of companionship, loneliness was now a stranger. I gulped and groped around my desk to look for anything to be used as a weapon. My hand closed around the sleek plastic handle of a stray screwdriver and I slowly pulled it out of my desk and waited for him to come closer. Ok, before the story goes on, I have to say one thing, I have no idea why there is a screwdriver in my new desk, there just was. I glared at him, pouring all my pain and hatred from the sixth grade me into my eyes. An old fire burst into flames in my heart as hate spread throughout my veins. When Jerry stood half a meter from me and pulled back a fist to punch me, I raced forward, fueled by the white-hot anger, and stabbed him in his thigh. If you thought action movies were loud, you're in for a treat. Jerry's scream tore through the school, startling everyone. People raced into our room like moth to fire. Jerry stopped screaming and started to sob as the dark red blood oozed from the stab wound in his right thigh. I looked up at the crowd, scared, even more scared than the crowd. When my eyes landed on Jason and Piper, I collapsed on the ground, knowing I have finally done something truly crazy to scare them away. My body started to shake as despair encompassed my mind. I heard the two sets of footsteps run to me, I looked up at the two people and realized they were Jason and Piper, who looked sadly at me. Just as I was about the break down crying, they embraced me in a hug comforting me, calming me down. I slowly drifted into sleep from the exhaustion of the sudden adrenaline burst.

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**A/N: Dear readers, I'm sorry if I skipped forward in time too much but I have a reason: I wanted to get to the part where Calypso appears faster.**

**Kronos: Orange, you shall no longer mess with my sphere of control!**

**Me: Ahahaha, what will you do?**

**Kronos: In the name of myself, I slay thee!**

**Me: Aiya you egotist, off you go!**

**Kronos: Wait Wha- *poof***


	6. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thank you all for your support and reviews! To be honest with ya'll, your support really touched me. On the outside, I act like a happy-go-lucky person who doesn't give a damn what happens, but on the inside, I'm really emotional. Thank you all for the support. Oh and I freaked out when I saw their wasn't a single view for my story in the stats chart, until l realized it showed it by month and it was 7/1 XD. Anyways on with the story!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO and HOO. Is this really necessary?**

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Chapter 4

It would be real great if they left me off the hook, one way or another, but they didn't. Apparently Jerry got tetanus but no one noticed as the screw driver was only slightly rusty. That meant by the time the found out, it was too late and had to amputate his leg. His family pressed charges against me, causing me to get expelled. Once again I am in a new school and all alone.

I looked up at the sign: Manhattan's School for Exceptional Children. Let me set the record straight: The title didn't specify the students are exceptional in what way, so there are smart kids poor kids, jocks, juvenile delinquents etc. Furthermore, the founder of this school made this a school for students from middle school to high school. I walked into the building, turned a right and walked to the principal's office to get my schedule. When I entered, a woman sitting at the front desk looked up and asked, "Name and grade?" As if she did not want to deal with children anymore and wanted to get home as soon as possible. "Leo Valdez, seventh grade." I answered, wanting to leave this room more and more. She gave me my schedule and I quickly departed while looking at my schedule:

_8:30-9:00_

_Homeroom_

_9:10-10:00_

_World History_

_10:10-11:00_

_Algebra_

_11:10-12:00_

_Chemistry_

_12:00-1:00_

_Lunch Break_

_1:10-2:00_

_Physical Education_

_2:10-3:00_

_English_

_3:10-4:00_

_Electives(Machine Science)_

I wandered down the hall towards my room, receiving judgmental and skeptical looks as if they were thinking, why the hell is this human equivalent of a smurf doing here? Steeling myself, I walked into the seventh grade classroom, plastering a smile on my face. Hey, being happy is my self-defense.

When I opened the door, I was welcomed by a sea of faces turned my way. Still smiling to show I meant no trouble to them, I plopped down in my seat which was next to a guy with messy jet black hair and was asleep, head in his arms. I sat down quietly beside him, not wanting to wake him up. I sat there for a few minutes, tinkering with the things in my backpack, creating a wind-up toy in that time span. I leaned back on my chair as the teacher entered the classroom. The teacher promptly introduced himself: "Hello class, I am Mr. Brunner, Chiron Brunner(**A/N: Yeah I know, Mr. Brunner, overused, but hey, I'm implementing story characters!**) and I will be your homeroom teacher and history teacher this year. Now, I'll start off with the roll call." He started reading off the attendance sheet, I caught the occasional name, such as Travis and Connor Stoll, Katie Gardener (Really?), Frank Zhang etc. I really only caught the names that stood out more, but one name stood out the most, Perseus Jackson, the guy sitting beside me. When the roll call started, he was roused from his sleep. Though his eyes were drooping form sleep, I could tell he had sea green eyes. When homeroom ended, I looked down at my schedule to go to my next class, World History.

As I walked towards the hallway that lead to the World History room, I saw some really cute girls. I sauntered up to them in confidence and said, "Hey girls, Leo Valdez-" I stopped abruptly as I saw the girls stare at me in silence. "Well, I was expecting squeals for a hot guy like me, but I suppose stunned silence is also appropriate. Now, which one of you wants to go out with the hottest, funniest guy in school?" The girls just looked at me in disgust, as if I was something scraped from underneath their shoes. One of them, who I think was called Elizabeth, said, "Look Valdez, do you know who we are? We are the want and need of pretty much everyone in our school, what makes you think we'll ever, _ever,_ settle for someone like you?" With a huff and a flip of her hair, she walked away, her cronies trailing behind her. Sighing and pretending no one was staring at me, I walked towards the classroom

Everything was going smoothly. I avoided the people I should avoid and didn't blatantly flirt with all the cute girls. All was going along normally until Chemistry class.

I sat down at my table, still wondering what the hell was wrong with those girls. I mean, I am likable, aren't I? When class began, I found out my lab partner was a girl with blond hair with grey eyes. Who the hell has grey eyes? Instantly I thought she was one of those girls that thought they were popular hot and way too good for me. Naturally, I took a disliking in her. None the less, I decided to keep my manners, extending my hand, I said, "Hi, I'm Leo." Surprisingly, she didn't look at me in disgust or condescension, instead, she looked at me in an unnerving way, as if she was visually analyzing me and deciding who I am. After a few seconds, she smiled and shook my hand and said, "Nice to meet you, I'm Annabeth, Annabeth Chase." I smiled as the teacher finished her roll call and class begin. Finally there was a friendly person in my class.

Well, there sure were a ton of surprises today, it turns out Annabeth was a girl did not stick with the stereotype of dumb, giggling, gossiping blonds, in fact she was the complete opposite. She was incredibly smart, she memorized the periodic table, nearly all the compounds and results of the mixtures and solutions. She also never giggles or bats her eyes when some hot guy flirt with her. When a guy called Bill walked up to her, grabbed her hand, smiled, and whispered in her ear, she twisted his arm around and flipped him over her shoulder, onto the table, splashing heated water onto him. Yes, she was definitely my type. As Bill shouted in shock and pain when the water hit him, I tried to stifle a laugh, unfortunately, my efforts were in vain, as I broke out laughing. While Bill walked away, he glared at me, his eyes saying you are so dead, sending shivers up and down my spine like a freezing cold icicle.

"Why did you laugh?" Annabeth asked me curiously.

"Well, all my life I was bullied and rejected, so I found it amusing how the tables have turned." I said uncomfortably.

"Well, follow, me after class, I know some people who can protect you." She said smiling.

I leaned back on my chair, wondering if I'll have a shot with Annabeth.

Well, it turns out I don't have a shot with her. When class ended, Annabeth and I quickly exited the classroom and walked towards the biology lab with Bill gaining on us. Just as I was about to ask Annabeth out, someone grabbed her hand, smiled, and said, "What's the rush?" I expected Annabeth to flip the guy onto the ground, but instead she said, "Oh hey Percy, we were just looking for you!" and hugged him.

"Hey Percy." I said, smiling, though I was glaring at him from the inside.

"Hey, Leo, right? Sorry, I wasn't really fully awake during homeroom." He said sheepishly.

"You know Bill? Well, after flipping him onto the table and scalding him with hot water, Leo, being the idiot he is, laughed, so he probably needs to stick around with other people.: Annabeth cut in as class was about to start.

"Sure, why not? C'mon Leo, I'll introduce you to our little circle of friends."

When we settled at a table in the cafeteria, Percy and Annabeth introduced me to Frank Zhang, who was the chubby, muscular Asian guy from my homeroom, Hazel Levesque, who had coffee skin, black hair, and golden eyes, Nico di Angelo, who had black hair, and eyes so dark that they seemed black, and he was wearing nearly all black, Grover Underwood, who wore a shirt that says "Hug a Tree", Juniper Green, a petite girl with amber colored hair, Travis and Connor Stoll, twins who both had brown curly hair and blue eyes, and Katie Gardner, a black haired girl with brown eyes. All of the above was in my grade except for Hazel and Nico, who were in a grade below us. I smiled as a feeling of belonging and acceptance washed through me, like someone just cleaned out all my veins. I haven't been this happy since Jason and Piper accepted me. I thought my situation could not get any better, but little did I know...

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**A/N: Sorry for the cliff hanger, but please don't kill me :( Even if you did, you'll never find out what happens MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Ok I feel bad, have a cookie :3 until next time! (which is hopefully within a few days :P Hey, summer vacation just started for me since I'm in Taiwan) Thank you for the support :D**


	7. Chapter 5

**A/N: Thank you all for the continuing support. Please R&R thank you! If you think this chapter was horrid, please tell me in the comments and stay tuned because I will get better if I get positive feedback instead of meaningless flame(not that I've ever been flamed XD) Anyways, enjoy!**

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Chapter 5

Last Time

I smiled as a feeling of belonging and acceptance washed through me, like someone just cleaned out all my veins. I haven't been this happy since Jason and Piper accepted me. I thought my situation could not get any better, but little did I know…

This Time

Okay, so the situation at school didn't get better immediately. It actually got worse for a moment. I watched as my friends grew closer together, as in couple closer. Percy grew closer with Annabeth, Grover with Juniper, Frank with Hazel, and Travis with Katie. All there was left was Nico, Connor, and me. Things at home were pretty good. Thalia finally started to actually talk to me and I started to go out with Jason and Piper more and more often right now. Everything went along smoothly as the year ended. Until something surprising happened: Jason, Piper, and Thalia transferred to my school after the second semester began.

"How did your parents agree to send you all here?" I asked happily.

"Well, Piper here saw a car she really wanted… and I'm just plain awesome. As for Thalia, well she was an accomplice" Jason said, grinning from ear to ear.

"Oh come one Jason, you know it's not like that," She playfully swatted him on his arm, "we were walking past a card dealer's store and since my dad never really pays attention to me so.. I decided to ask for a test drive despite being underage. Well, long story short, Jason and Thalia were with me on the car so they were accomplices so we were all sent here!" When she finished explaining, tears started to well up in my eyes as I realized the two of them committed a crime just to stay with me.

"You just missed Uncle Leo and his tricks too much, didn't you?" I said, smiling through my tears, as we embraced each other. Then I pulled apart, remembering Thalia. I turned to her and asked, "Why did you go with them?"

"Well, I couldn't leave my baby brother all alone, now could I?" She said grinning at her brother's uncomfortable expression.

Ahh, with Jason and Piper with me, things started to get better, well, at least for me. The two of them were constantly hit on by people of opposite genders. An Asian girl called Drew stuck to Jason like a barnacle on the bottom of a ship. Well, I gotta say one thing, that Drew is such a bitch. No, I'm not saying that just because she was one of the "popular" girls that made fun of me, okay maybe a bit, but she treated Piper and Thalia like trash, both of which were basically a sister to me, with Piper being the caring one and Thalia being the annoying one.

When school started, I couldn't wait to introduce them to my friends. Not the best decision of my life.

"Hey guys," I said, running up to my small group, "Jason, Thalia, and Piper here just transferred here! Jason and Thalia are my adoptive siblings and Piper is a friend of ours." I was about to start introducing them when I saw Thalia and Percy glaring at each other.

"Umm, what's going on?" I asked nervously. I've seen the two of them in a fight and I did not want them fighting each other. Suddenly, Thalia lunged at Percy, only to have Jason, Piper, and me pull her back.

"Thalia, what the hell? He's a friend!" I yelled at her.

"Friend? That so-called friend tried to kill me with bees!" She screamed at me, attracting the attention of many others.

"It was an accident! And you think you're so great? It took ages to clean out all the crap from my bed when you poured the sea water on me! IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT!" Percy shouted back.

"Alright all of you shut up!" Annabeth said with authority, "Connor and Travis, stop taking bets!" The Stolls grumbled and started to return money to the onlookers, whilst receiving murderous glares from the two demons in our midst. Percy and Thalia quieted down, though they still looked like they wanted to kill each other.

"Wow, you two are actually being civilized, pleased to meet you all, I'm Annabeth Chase." Annabeth said, shaking hands with Jason, Piper, and Thalia. The greetings were exchanged and we went to our homerooms.

I was beyond happy when I realized Jason and Piper were in the same homeroom as me. When the bell rang, I sat down in my usual seat in front of Percy and waited for the teacher to come.

"Hey, sorry for the outbreak back there Leo." Percy said apologetically.

"Huh? Oh that? It's alright, it's not like anyone got hurt." I said, acting as if I'm indifferent, but curiosity still gnawed at me. Unable to hold back any more, I asked, "So what exactly happened between you two?"

"Well you see, I met Thalia in a summer camp our friends and I went to. One day when I was talking to Grover, I was about to leave, but when I turned around, I immediately ran into Thalia, pushing her into a pine tree, which had a beehive on it. The tree was quite young, so the hive was in for a ride. This led to the bees swarming out and started chasing Thalia until she jumped into a lake. In retaliation, she gathered two bucketfuls of seawater and the crap that was in it and dumped the contents all over me in two in the morning."

"Woah, well, that's an interesting story." I said, just as our teacher came in.

"Good morning my students!" 's voice shattered multiple people's sleep, "And welcome back to school! This semester we have three new students in our class. I expect you to treat them with respect as you will be seeing a lot of them since everyone will have the same classes except for two Elective classes that last two hours each, one on Monday and one on Thursday. Now, If you would please introduce yourselves." Jason was the first to go up. When he got up onto the stage, which was just a slightly raised platform, not that extravagant, all the girls in our class stared at him, some even had their mouths half open,as Jason began to speak.

"Hey everyone, I'm Jason Grace, I was born in California, but my parents moved to New York for God knows why. As for more personal stuff, I enjoy exercising and pissing off my sister." With that, he stepped off of the stage and allowed Piper to go next.

"Hello everyone, I'm Piper McLean and yes, my dad is Tristan McLean, the actor. You might-" She was cut off from squeals from the girls, asking for signatures, but Piper continued, " As i was saying, you might be wondering why I'm here. Well, I stole a car to get my dad's attention." People stared at her in wonder and bewilderment as she made her way to her assigned seat. Next up was a girl with cinnamon colored hair that looked beautiful, which has nothing to do with my view on her, she probably is just one of those self centered popular girls that make fun of me. She had dark almond eyes that looked really pretty, but again, definitely does not make me like her. As I was staring at her, not because I think she looks gorgeous, but because.. well… I stare a lot, shut up, anyways, as I was staring at her (Leo: refer to previous statement please), she started to talk in a beautiful voice(I DON'T LIKE HER!)

"Hi, I'm Calypso Razi, I come from a group of islands in the atlantic called-" She began, only to be cut off by a boy called Dylan, who sat beside me

"Hey babe, I would love to see you dance the hula. " He said, smiling flirtatiously.

"Look, dumbass, call me babe one more time and I will beat you up and Hawaii is in the Pacific. Imbecile." With that lovely comment, she huffed and strode gracefully to her seat that was beside me.

"Hey you didn't have to be that rude to him in front of everybody. By the way, I'm Leo Valdez." I said, smiling.

"You would too if you were me. I have suffered enough flirtatious jokes about the freaking hula." She said, glaring at me.

"You were bullied? Who would bully you? You're…"

"I'm what? Good-looking? Never mind, you're just those kind of asses that only look at a girl's looks."

"Oh you're so great? You're judging me on one single compliment and two innocent questions? Well, guess what… you know what, never mind. If you think you're so great, fine with me, just go cozy up with all those 'popular' kids." I said angrily, I mean who can be so quick to conclusions?

When I woke up, I looked at the schedule and saw that my next class was Chemistry. Oh thank the gods, if I'm lucky, I wouldn't have to sit next to freaking Princess Razi in the Chem lab.

I plopped down in my seat as I waited the teacher to assign our lab partners. I waited my turn as I listened to my teacher, Mr. Radley, ring off the groups: Jason and Drew, Piper and Dylan, Percy and Rachel, and so on. Finally, Mr. Radley said, "Leo and… Calypso."

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**A/N: Hey, thank ya'll for reading this chapter. Please tell em in the reviews on what you think about this story. How many stars out of ten would you rate it? Thank you for bearing with me throughout this story! Thank you so much. Anyways, if you didn't like this chapter please tell me why, I'll do better next time. Just please stick with me if it isn't too much to ask :) Thank you and stay tuned :D**


	8. Chapter 6

**A/N You're wish is my command! You wanted a new chapter and here it is :D Read and review! Most importantly, hope you enjoy :D**

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Chapter 6

I sighed as the teacher gave us our assignments. I looked around the room, seeing how my friends were fairing. I don't know whether or not to be happy that I'm not the only one suffering, or sad for my friends. Drew constantly tried to get Jason's attention. She constantly looked for excuses to get physical with my poor friend. Dylan on the other hand, did not look for any excuse to touch Piper, he blatantly flirted with her, grabbing her hand, hugging her from behind, and stuff like that. Percy on the other hand, was luckier. Rachel was more of a passive girl and she just blushed when Percy got close to her. I sighed and shook my head.

"Pathetic, isn't it?" Calypso said, she too was looking at my friends and their partners.

"Are you calling my friends pathetic?" I asked, instantly becoming hostile.

She shook her head and said, "No. I was talking about physical attraction, lust, those feelings. I hate it when people get judged like that. If you look good, you're liked. If you're not that good looking, you're average or disliked."

"Then why are you so unhappy about it? I mean you're… you know…" I said nervously.

"Good looking? You think that's so great? Everyone expects me to be like all those popular girls. You know, shopping, gossiping, and stuff like that. In truth, I am nothing like that. I like being outside, with nature. I like gardening. I like..." She trailed off, "You know, I've never straight up told someone about myself."

"I don't know what you experienced in your childhood, but mine is probably worse. My dad ran away before I was born, I accidentally caused my mother's death when I was playing with a blowtorch. Though there was no proof, my Aunt Rosa turned my family against me." I continued to tell her everything about my childhood, my loneliness, anger until I met Jason and Piper, how they cared for me like I was there brother and when Jason's family adopted me. I told her of me being mistreated by all those popular kids, laughed at because of my appearance. I don't know what compelled me to say all this, maybe it was the sadness in her eyes that I didn't notice before. I guess I was distracted by her…umm… nevermind, I still don't like her. I still don't know why I told her all this. When I finished, Calypso looked at me funny.

"I never thought you were that kind of person. I hated you at first because I always thought you were-" She was cut off by the teacher.

"Calypso, Leo, if you two are done… er… warming up to each other, I do believe you two have a worksheet to turn in. So how many volts of electricity are produced from the heating of this mixture?" asked us. The two of us looked at him clueless.

"Erm… 7.1? Yeah, 7.1!" I said, unconfident, then again more confidently.

Mr. Benson looked at me, surprised, "Yes, yes it is ."

Calypso looked at me gratefully and smiled at me. On the outside, I was my usual happy and confident self, while on the inside, my thoughts basically went like this, _Oh thank gods I got it right. Wait she's smiling at me!_ If I was a robot, I would've short circuited and blown right then and there. Wait… What am I saying… I do not like her!

Finally, the bell rang and I quickly left the classroom. I rounded the corner when I ran into Jason and Piper.

"Hey guys, how were your lab partners?" I smirked and snickered teasingly.

"Gah I hate Dylan, that sick guy, keeps on touching me, what a pervert." Piper groaned, head in her hands.

"I don't know what's wrong with Drew, I mean, why is she constantly touching me in conversations. Are all Asians like this?" Jason said, looking confused, oblivious to the fact that Drew was obviously into him.

"Jason, I never thought you were so dense! She obviously likes you." Piper said, exasperated. Though I thought I saw a hint of jealousy in her eyes. Then it hit me just how ignorant Jason was. I decided to pull Piper aside later to confirm my suspicions.

"So," Piper said, cutting through my thoughts, "What do you think about Calypso? You two had a lovely little chat ,didn't you?" She smiled at me slyly. My face started to burn a bit and I coughed, feeling flustered, while Jason looked at the two of us curiously.

"Uh, well she's ok I guess. To be honest, I didn't really like her when I first met her. She seemed like the kind of girl that always make fun of me.: I mumbled uncomfortably.

"So what do you think about her now?" Jason inquired me, finally catching up. I mean, gosh, how is he so slow and still have so many girls throwing themselves at him? Thankfully, I was spared from lying to my friends when Drew literally threw herself at him.

"Jason, honey , I was looking for you? Why are you talking to the little elf and Dumpster Girl? Why don't you and I grab something to eat after school? You know, hang out with actual people." She said seductively.

When she finished, Jason stiffened and said coldly, "Oh I don't know? Maybe it's because the three of us are childhood friends, Leo is my brother, and Piper is ten times, no a hundred times the girl you will ever be!" Drew pouted and started to walk away. She suddenly turned around and said, "Oh Jason, Dear, you'll realize your mistake and come crawling back to me!"

Jason shook his head and said, "If there really is karma, I have no idea what I did that made _that_ person my lab partner." He grinned at us, then he noticed Piper blushing. Oh finally he's going to know that Piper's got a thing for him.

"Are you okay Piper? Is this an asthma attack? Wait, you don't have asthma." Jason was completely confused.

"Well, looks like class is about to start! We should get going!" I quickly said, trying to avoid their questions about Calypso. Unfortunately, this snapped Piper out of her daze and she ran after me, screaming, "You still owe us an explanation Valdez!" While Jason ran to catch up.

I sat down at my table and sighed to myself while Jason and Piper looked at me, their eyes saying to me, "You are not going to get away!" Percy sat down beside me and frowned towards Jason and Piper, "What's up with them?"

"Oh, them? Well, I don't really know actually." I said innocently, hoping Percy was too dumb to connect the dots. Well, unfortunately he did, or almost did.

"Oh, I bet it's about you and Calypso, eh?" He smirked, bathing in his sudden slight enlightenment.

"What about me?" Calypso asked, plopping into her seat next to me.

"Oh, it's just that Piper and Jason are glaring at Leo because they wanted to ask him something about what happened in class." He smirked at my astonished expression. When did he learn to connect the dots like that? Than it hit me and I said, "Yeah… I definitely didn't find that out by yourself. Annabeth told you, right?" When he didn't answer and I smiled in triumph, " I knew it, you're too dense." I laughed.

"Ow, Leo, that is really, really hurtful." He held his hand over his heart in mock pain.

"Whatever, ya'll are probably are just comparing me to all the other so-called 'popular' girls." Calypso cut in angrily. DId I mention that she jumps to conclusions too quickly? I tried to talk to her during our classes, but I gave up as she just ignored me, giving me the cold shoulder, and I was told that _I _was immature. _Well, I'm not the one to give up easily_, I thought, deciding to know what is making this girl tick.

I looked around the cafeteria, trying to find Calypso, but to no avail. As I scanned the cafeteria for the tenth time, my friends waved me over to our usual table.

"I thought I was clumsy and forgetful." Frank joked.

"Oh, you're not that clumsy." Hazel said, comforting him. She then blushed when Connor whispered something that sounded like "Young love."

"Ah… It's obvious he is thinking about his lab partner." Travis said, smiling devilishly.

"Oh, like you're not thinking about Katie." His brother, Connor, smirked, causing Travis and Katie to blush.

"Oh, that reminds me, Leo, what do you think about Calypso?" Piper asked, "still won't admit it?"

Everyone swiveled their head towards me and looked at me curiously.

"Come on Leo, we all know you got a thing for her, They way you just opened up to her in Chem class was way to obvious." Grover chimed in.

"You don't have to be embarrassed, everyone likes someone else like that." Juniper said, trying to soothe me. Leave it to Juniper to be the nice one. I swear, I have never seen Juniper angry unless someone commits a serious crime against nature. I still remember her getting thrown out of a mall for yelling at the shop keepers to turn the air conditioning down, claiming it is killing our world. Sighing, I answered to their pestering questions.

"Look, I have to admit she's hot. As a person, she isn't all that great." I admitted.

"Oh come one, you barely know her, don't be so judgmental!" Nico said, smiling at me, knowing this will make me really pissed.

"Oh he's probably too wimpy to admit he likes her." Thalia smirked.

"Hey, if he doesn't want her, does it mean I…" Connor trailed off as people glared at him, "Okay, sorry, just wondering."

I shook my head and started to eat my delicious lunch of pork chops and… Well, to be honest, I have no idea what the topping is. Gravy? Whatever it is, it probably isn't edible. I subtly spat it back onto my tray and proceeded to steal some of Jason's food, when a loud slap echoed throughout the cafeteria. A sea of faces turned towards the source of sound like a herd of meerkats. The commotion was coming two tables to our left and the person who did the slapping, was no other than Calypso Razi herself.

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**A/N: Ah... denial. Leo, don't be so wimpy... Ok, maybe I'm not the one to talk XD (The first person to guess why I'm not the one to talk gets a virtual cookie from :D If no one gets it, I may reveal why if someone asks) Anyways, thank you for reading, how much would you rate it out of 10, and stay tuned for chapter 7!**


	9. Chapter 7

**A/N: Thank you all for the reviews and supports. Oh and I won't reply to your reviews on the stories, I'll PM you guys if I have something to say or it'll take too much space. If you don't get a PM, it's an automatic THANK YOU FOR REVIEWING! 3. Cuz I'm too lazy to send individual PMs. Thanks for the reviews, Read and review, but most importantly, enjoy!**

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Chapter 7

The sound of a slap echoed throughout the cafeteria, and we all turned to see what was happening. This is what we saw: An angry Calypso standing over a skinny blond kid who had a red blotch on his left cheek. The boy sat on the ground with a shocked expression on his face, as if he couldn't believe he actually got hit. Though this boy was scrawny, you could tell that he was a dangerous and feared person.

"You touch me like that again, Octavian, I'm going to cut your hands off." Calypso snarled

Have I ever told you my school is a messed up place? The teachers hear specialize in discipline so people with problems are sent here. The teachers are also good at teaching so good and smart kids are also sent here. Octavian's group of thugs looked like they were sent here for shoplifting with nothing but their hands. Anyways, Octavian nodded to one of his thugs who then pulled out a switchblade and advanced towards Calypso. My friends were completely stunned by what was happening, even the level headed Annabeth couldn't snap out of her daze. I looked left and right for teachers but could not find them. Maybe they were changing shifts, maybe the were too lazy, whatever the reason is, there were no teachers. I turned back towards the scene, only to see Calypso backing off, but was blocked by someone Octavian's other thugs. Without thinking, I started to run. Except this time, I ran towards the trouble.

You might be wondering what the hell is wrong with you Leo? Well, to be honest, my brain wasn't working properly. The only reason I ran towards Calypso and the thugs was because I was sick of people getting bullied. I wanted to make them have a taste of their own medicine no matter the consequences inflicted upon me. As I neared the group, I jumped onto the table without breaking stride. I narrowed my eyes and pushed down with my right leg with all my strength, which isn't really that much. Unfortunately, I miscalculated my jump. Instead of tackling the thug from behind like I planned, I jumped too far(surprise, surprise) and landed right between the thug and Calypso.

"Back the fuck off." I snarled. I'm actually surprised it wasn't a whimper that came out of my mouth.

"Who the hell are you?" The thug growled back.

"The Nutcracker." I smirked. My answer took him by surprise and he stopped and lowered his blade. In the fraction of a second, I dashed forward and kicked him in his balls. Unfortunately, he only bent over a bit and groaned, but instantly straightened up and slashed the blade across my cheek, cutting a shallow gash. I stumbled back, the pain shot through my cheek like a red hot poker.

"Last chance, whoever the hell you are, back off." He growled at me. I looked around me and saw everyone looking back at me. Even my friends were watching with stunned expressions. Calypso on the other hand looked at me in a curious way, as if wondering why I was helping her. Knowing I had to finish what I started or people will get hurt, I looked at the thug straight in the eye and said, "Okay, just calm down." I walked back into the crowd while facing him. My friends looked at me, unsure whether to feel relieved or angry that I was a coward. I walked back in an angle so that I would be behind the thugs as he advance onto Calypso again. I looked at Calypso and saw that there was only sorrow on her face. Slowly, I reached behind me and grabbed the first metal object that touched my hand, a spoon. Wasting no time, I suddenly ran forward and started to beat him in the back of the head like he was a whack-a-mole machine. My second sudden act of stupid bravery shook my friends out of their daze and I saw them run towards me as I was flipped around and slammed onto the ground. Unfortunately, could not get to me as they were intercepted by more goons. Knowing I was alone right now, I decided to go down swinging. I snapped both of my feet forward and caught him in the chin. Sigh, if only I worked out. My double snap kick only made him angrier. I started to slash viciously at me while I tried to back away, but still got cut multiple times in my arms and torso. Suddenly, I felt my knees buckle and my vision started to turn black as the blood loss from a particularly large cut that began at my right cheek then continued in a diagonal across my chest started to affect me. I lay there on the ground, slowly losing consciousness. A huge form loomed over me and raised up a knife that pointed downwards at my face. Closing my eyes, I accepted my fate, but still started to cry. Suddenly I heard a sharp crack and opened my eyes to see Calypso smash the goon's head with a metal tray and slammed it on his face, breaking his nose. Then everything went black.**(A/N: Wanted to do a cliffhanger, but chapter would be too short D:)**

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_Beep. Beep. Beep._ I was woken by the sound of a heart monitor. I groggily opened my eyes and looked at myself and saw that my torso and arms were wrapped in bandages.. When I turned to my right, I saw Jason and Piper sleeping, with Piper's head on Jason's lap. I looked to my left and was surprised to see Calypso sitting there, looking out the window.

"Hey." I said weakly. Calypso turned towards me, startled.

"You're… You're awake!" She said, tears rolling down her face.

"Aww, come one, I know we hate each other, but don't be so sad I'm alive." I smirked.

"Leo, I'm sorry about the way I treated you. It's just that I thought you were like one of those people who are so popular and expect me to act like those stupid popular girls. Then after you told me about your life, I thought you were just lying to me to get together with me.." She said, apologetically, "I can't thank you enough for saving my life. I didn't deserve it." her eyes drifted towards the floor, unable to look at my eyes

"Hey, Calypso, look at me," She lifted her eyes up and I continued, "It's alright, I know what it feels like to be rejected, I wasn't lying to you just to get together with you. I don't play with people's emotions. By the way, why did you think I'm one of the popular people?"

"Well, you know it's because you're so-" Calypso was cut off by a startled yelp from Piper who just woke up and found that she was lying on Jason's yelp. Her yelp also startled Jason who sat up and screamed, "I DIDN'T BREAK THE VASE MOM!" Resulting in all of us descending into laughter. Even Piper forgot her temporary embarrassment.

"Oh, you two were having a heartfelt conversation." Piper said, looking at us slyly, "Come on Jason, let's give them some time to alone."

"Do you have any water and food?" I asked. Calypso grabbed me a cup of water and and a sandwich from the bedside table. I quickly guzzled down the sandwich, taking short pauses to drink the water.

"Oh, this tastes like food for the gods." I moaned.

"I think Jason's leaning on the door, that son of a gun." Calypso pounded on the door.

"So Calypso, what happened back in the cafeteria?" I asked curiously.

"Oh, you know Octavian? Well, he kind of grope me." Calypso replied, embarrassed.

"Ah crap, so I beat up the wrong guy?" I said, pinching my nose in mock frustration.

"Beat up? You were almost killed"

"Oh, about that, thanks for saving me." I said sheepishly, not believing I forgot it was her that saved me, "Say where'd you learn to fight like that?"

"Well, I was never like one of your popular girls despite looking like them. I always preferred the outdoors since I enjoy gardening. I used to live in a shadier part of town on the Atlantic Islands so my dad taught me how to defend myself. So that's why I'm always left out. The popular kids are never alone and even the nerds had each other, but me, I was always alone." She stared out at blank space as her voice trailed off, "You know, I've never told anyone so much about myself."

"Same with me, but I did tell Piper and Jason after we got really close." I replied, mirroring her sorrow, "Say, whenever you're going to say what you think about me that makes you think I'm popular, you're always cut off." She raised her eyebrows and I continued, "So, what _do _you think about me?"

"You'll know when the time comes." Calypso smirked at me as I pouted. I smiled contentedly and closed my eyes.

"Leo?" She said uncertainly.

"Hmm?"

"Thank you for being so kind to me. Friends?"

"It'll be my honor…" I slowly drifted off into peaceful sleep.

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**A/N: Yay, Leo and Calypso finally don't hate each other. Jason and Piper, you sly, sly matchmakers, I bet you two are enjoying the alone time you're having :3 Anyways, hope you enjoyed this chapter, please rate it out of 10 if you have the time, thank you and stay tuned!**


	10. Chapter 8

**A/N: I'm sorry for the short chapter! Please don't kill me, here have a cookie (::). Anyways please read and review, but most importantly, enjoy!**

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Chapter 8

Finally, after two days, I was finally discharged from the hospital. I escaped unscathed except for the scar on my face and chest. The scar on my face wasn't really visible, but the one on my chest was extremely clear and visible. You might be wondering what happened to the participants of the fight, well my friends and I got off easily since it was technically self defence as in the law, self defence extends to the protection of others. Octavian, on the other hand was charged for minor sexual offence. As for the goons, some were charged for assault and battery while others were innocent on the basis of self defence. All in all, it was complicated and all you need to know is that my friends and are are innocent and Octavian is officially a sex offender.

Jason, Piper, and I sat on the couch in our living room, watching Saw. I couldn't help but notice Jason and Piper were sitting especially close, hands almost touching. Taking the chance when they were transfixed by the movie, I ever so slightly bumped Jason in the shoulder, light enough so he wouldn't be distracted from the movie, but hard enough to use his momentum to push his right hand onto Piper's left hand. Surprisingly, they didn't notice me doing this and kept on watching. Suddenly when the victim screamed, Piper gripped Jason's hand, hard, causing them to look at each other and blush, but didn't let go. I rolled my eyes, causing their blush to deepen, but still not letting go. I was happy for my friends, but I was starting to feel left out. Suddenly Thalia ran into the living room and saw my friends holding hands.

"Woah, my baby brother has a girlfriend before me getting a boyfriend? Unacceptable!" Thalia broke down laughing. Jason and Piper quickly let go of each other's hands.

"I know you're just jealous because no one likes the 'punk' look anymore." Jason teased.

Thalia rolled her eyes and said, "Whatever, anyways, we have two new neighbors!"

Upon hearing this, Jason paused the movie and the four of us ran outside to see if they had any kids our age. When we stepped out the door, we were met with men carrying furniture into the house across from us. I saw a family of three walking towards the front porch. There was a father, mother, and a skinny blond boy.

"Oh crap, is that Octavian?" Jason said, shocked.

"Octavian? Is he the boy that groped Leo's girlfriend?" Thalia asked.

"Why does everyone think we're in a relationship?" I groaned.

"You're going to be so cute together." Piper gushed.

"Who's he going to be cute with?" Jason said, oblivious to our conversation.

"Calypso, obviously, Sparky." Piper rolled her eyes, "Come one, let's go get something to eat. Guys, tell us about the other neighbors." Jason grumbled about the electric shock ten years ago that almost knocked him out and how much it hurt, but followed Piper nonetheless.

"Come on Leo, let's go check out our other neighbors." Thalia said, pulling me along.

We walked up to the front porch of the the house next to ours. We stopped in front of the door and we just stood there. After a minute or so, Thalia finally broke the silence.

"Aren't you going to ring the doorbell?" She asked me impatiently.

"Why? You're closer." I said, sort of nervous.

"Why you scared?" Thalia scoffed. I rolled my eyes and rang the doorbell. A tall ,am with a scar running across his eye opened the door and looked at me.

"Who are you? He said gruffly.

"Oh, I'm Leo Valdez and this is-" I turned around but couldn't find Thalia, gah, that little bastard. "Well, I could've swore my sister, Thalia Grace, was here. Anyways, we're your neighbors! Yay!"

"My name is Martin, Martin Razi." He said, suddenly smiling and shaking my hand, "Glad to finally see a polite and well mannered young man."

"Oh hey, Mr. Razi." Thalia suddenly popped up.

"Where were you Thalia?" I said, "You scared?" I smirked.

"Why would you be scared of me?" He asked, "Oh, is it because of my scar?"

"Oh no, no, scars aren't scary, they're cool." I said, lifting my shirt up, showing him my scar, "See, I have one to!"

"Woah. woah, I can see it, please put your shirt back on!" He said, laughing.

"Wait, your last name is Razi? Do you happen to have a daughter called Calypso?" I asked, the truth dawning on me.

"Yeah, how do you know her?" He asked, surprised.

"Oh, we're in the same class." I said happily.

"Wait are you _the_ Leo? The one that saved my daughter?"

"The one and only."

"I can not thank you enough, Leo, Calypso means everything to me." He embraced me. I pulled away and asked, "So where's Calypso right now?"

"Oh she's out buying gardening tools."

"Hmph, figures." I said, "Anyways, when she comes back, can you tell her we live next door, to the right of your house."

"Ok, I'll send her over when she comes back." He said, playfully waving us away, "Good bye!"

Thalia and I walked back to our house, not believing the good news.

"So, happy that your girlfriend lives next to us?" Thalia punched me in the shoulder.

"For the last time, she's not my girlfriend." I said, exasperated. She just rolled her eyes and grumbled, "We'll see." When we rounded the corner to the living room, we only saw Mrs. Grace.

"Hey Mom, where's Jason and Piper?" Thalia asked.

"Oh, they're in his room." She replied absently.

Thalia and I crept upstairs and looked into Jason's room. In his room, Jason was holding hands with Piper, whispering ever so quietly so we could not hear what they were saying.

"Leo, get out your phone and start filming, I have a hunch something will happen." Thalia whispered to me. Without asking why, I pulled out my phone and started recording. Just as I was about to tell Thalis she's crazy, Piper leaned in and kissed Jason on his lips. I could not believe my eyes.

"What did I tell you Leo? Always trust your big sis." Thalia smirked. When the two of them broke away, I ended the recording, and just in time. The second I ended it and put my phone in my pocket, Jason turned around and his eyes widened.

"Oh shit, I mean, hey sup? How long have you guys been there?" Jason said, panicked.

"Oh, long enough baby brother." Thalia smiled devilishly.

"Oh gods, oh gods, please don't' tell anyone," Piper begged.

"Tell? Why would we tell anyone what happened?" I asked them looking at them in mock confusion.

"Umm… Leo, don't take this wrong, but are you ok? The usual you would-"Jason was extremely confused but I cut him off by pulling out my phone.

"Why tell someone when I can show them?" I said smiling, with Thalia cackling like a crazed witch. Jason and Piper's face paled.

"Please don't tell anyone we'll do anything!" Piper begged.

"Wait what do you mean we?" Jason looked at her.

"Hey, you kissed me, too."

"Eh, fair enough. So what do we have to do to buy your silence?"

"Well…" I said, trailing off and looked at Thalia and smiled.

* * *

**A/N: Hehe cliff hanger :) If you kill me you'll never know what happens so... don't kill me I have candy here have a lollipop, -o. Anyways, please tell me in the reviews how Jason and Piper should be threatened I'll choose one at random if there are enough ideas from you guys, thank you! This means so much to me :D 3 Stay tuned!**


	11. Chapter 9

**IMPORTANT**** A/N: Sorry ya'll this is a really short chapter because I have a writer's block for this story right now. Anyways, this is more of a filler chapter so ya'll don't kill me :) I'm trying to work on a Kane Chronicles fanfic that centers around an OC. OI don't want to write bad chapters because of writer's block, read and review, but most importantly, enjoy!**

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Chapter 9

"Well…" I said, trailing off and looked at Thalia and smiled.

"Well, we'll see, for now, you're safe, that is until we need something." Thalia smirked.

"Oh, by the way, you know who our new neighbors are" I said excitedly, "It's Calypso!"

"Someone's excited." Jason laughed.

"Not a word to anyone else or the video goes out." I glared at him.

"Ah… So you're not denying it." Piper smirked. I was just about to say something witty, the doorbell rang.

"Jason! Go get the door!" Mom shouted. The four of us ran downstairs.

"It must be Calypso." Thalia said.

"Well, then let's make Leo answer it!" Piper said, and before I could threaten them with the tape, I was pushed towards the door. Unfortunately it was with the combined strength of three people and my face slammed against the door.

"Ummm… Are you alright?" I heard Calypso say through the door. Taking a deep breath, I opened the door.

"Hey Calypso, what's up?" I leaned on the door frame trying to look casual.

"Why are you trying to act casual?" She asked, holding a plastic container

"Me, acting? No, why?"

"Your nose is bleeding." My hand flew to my nose and it came back with a blood stain.

"Oh damn, I'm going to kill them." I groaned.

"Here, let me wipe it off for you." She put down the bow and started to clean my face with a tissue.

"Cinnamon." I said stupidly.

"What?" Calypso looked at me, confused.

"Oh, nothing, it's just that you smell like cinnamon."

"Look, Leo, you're my friend, but smelling people is kind of weird."

"Well, hey them I must be the first to say you smell good." I said, smiling.

"Actually, no," She said.

"Who?" I was confused

"My boyfriend, Drake."

* * *

"So, how did your little chat with Calypso go?" Jason said.

"Oh it was ok. Where the hell were you guys?" I said, annoyed.

"Oh, we didn't want to interrupt you guys, you know give you two some alone time." Thalia smirked.

"Well, I don't really need alone time with her." I replied.

Piper must've noticed the sadness in my eyes because she asked, "What happened Leo?"

I looked at her and sighed, "She has a boyfriend." The second that came out of my mouth, it suddenly seemed more real from before and i felt as if my soul was crushed. I felt completely defeated. I was never a brave person, I always ran when I couldn't stand the current situation. The only times I've been brave was for Calypso, and now I found out she has a boyfriend. I just sighed, looked forward and smiled, "There are lots of fish in the sea."

* * *

**A/N Sorry for the short chapter again :( Anyways, Hope you liked this, stay tuned! Hopefully this stupid block goes away -.- Thank you 3**


	12. Chapter 10

**A/N: Well, this writer's block was short. Thanks for the reveiws they really inspired me! I already have ideas for the next chapter. Unfortunately I'm leaving for 10 days or so, next Monday I might update if I can get internet, but I can't guarantee it. Thank you all so much 3 Read and reveiw, but most imporatantly, enjoy!**

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Chapter 10

When I first knew that Calypso's boyfriend lives back in the Atlantic islands, I had some hope. Then, the unthinkable happened, Drake moved to our school. He was everything I wasn't. He was what girls call hot, he was athletic, muscular, and popular. On the brightside, he wasn't as smart as me either, yay! I looked at him as he was instantly assimilated into our school. To rub more salt into the wound, I saw that he and Calypso were constantly together and he was always holding her hand or waist. I finally got the courage to talk to Calypso while Drake was with her.

"Hey Calypso, so this is your boyfriend?" I asked nonchalantly.

"Yeah, he is. Drake, this is Leo, Leo Valdez." She introduced me.

"Hey, Francis Drake, but everyone calls me Drake." I extended my hand, but he just looked at me, scanned my body and smirked, "You gotta earn it buddy." He tweaked my nose and turned to Calypso, "I gotta go to my next class babe." He lightly kissed her on her lips and turned and walked away.

"Sorry, Leo, Drake can be a bit rude and judgmental sometimes." She said to me apologetically.

"A bit?" I asked in mock surprise, "Only a bit?"

"Leo, c'mon-" Calypso was cut of when the rest of my friends suddenly popped up.

"So, that's your boyfriend, he's a hottie." Piper laughed. I couldn't help but notice Jason tighten his fists, "But don't worry Jason, you're much hotter and better."

"Yeah, at least he isn't rude," I snorted, "Lemme tell you Calypso, this guy means trouble."

"Leo, you're just jealous of his life." Calypso rolled her eyes.

"I gotta agree with Leo with this one." Annabeth added, "I wouldn't trust this guy."

"Ugh, you guys are so stupid sometimes." she stomped away.

"Well aren't you the jealous one." Nico laughed.

"Oh shut it kiddo, don't you have a class to get to with Hazel?" I rolled my eyes, causing him to run to his class to escape Frank's death glare. We went our separate ways to our Electives.

If there was one place I was respected, it was the Machine Science Electives. I was a star there. Usually I can't stand to study, but reading about machines and how they work, I am always completely absorbed into the book. When I walked in I saw the last two people I wanted to see, Drake and Octavian. I glared at them, wondering why they were here.

"Hey Octavian, you finally got your head out of your ass to actually learn, eh?" I growled at him.

"What the hell is wrong with you Leo?" Drake growled back as Octavian smirked form behind his back.

"Oh, what the hell is wrong with me? This ass-hat molested your girlfriend and got slapped by her and he told one of his thug cronies to cut her up with a knife." I said, trying one last time to see if there is any hope in him.

"Yeah, he told me that already, and I forgave him. Let bygones be bygones, and I like honest people." He put an arm around Octavian.

"And you aren't disturbed by the fact this guy molested your girlfriend?" I asked, hoping he would say something stupid.

"Oh of course I am, but hey, I'm a forgiving person." Bingo

"And you think Calypso's ok with that?"

"Of course."

"That's nice, you know why? I just recorded this whole conversation." I smirked, holding up my trusty phone.

Drake's eyes bulged and he made a wild grab for my phone, but in his anger his movements were clumsy and I nimbly stepped back, causing him to trip and fall. He instantly shot to his feet, pulling back his fist.

"Francis! What are you doin? Sit down!" Mr. Williams, our teacher, shouted.

Drake's whole face reddened when his firstname was said aloud. Hey, Francis isn't a bad name.

"Valdez, you are so dead." He glared at me.

I gulped and lowered my head, dreading the end of the class. When the bell rang, the teacher leftthe classroom to attend to urgent matters. I wiped my forehead and looked around me. I saw Drake stand up and walk towards me. Unfortunately, I sat in a corner and I didn' have anywhere to go. By instinct, opened the window behind me and flipped out of it. Landing right on someone else.

"Oh crap, I'm so sorry, Iwas getting chased by someone." I groaned.

"Who's chasing you?" The person asked. I looked up and saw that I landed on Claypso. I was about to answer, but Drake climbed out of the window, screaming, "LEO VALDEZ, YOU ARE DEAD!"

"Oh, hey francis." I smiled at him.

He was about to tackle me, but Calpso laid a hand on his chest.

"Drake, why are you chasing Leo?" She asked calmly.

"I... Uh..." He stuttered, realizing he did not have a good reason.

"Oh, is it because I got a specific audio file of our earlier conversation?"

"What's happening?" Calypso asked nervously.

I unlocked my phone and started to play the audio file. When it finished, Calypso looked at Drake, shocked, as Drake looked down, defeated. Calypso stepped forward angrily and slapped him across his face.

"I thought you cared about me!" She screamed.

Drake's face instnatly soured, "Oh, you thought I cared about you? No, especially since you've been snuggling up to this peice of crap"

"'This piece of crap' is right here, you know?" I grumbled.

"Yeah, that's because he saved my life, and what did you do? You didn't even do anything" Calypso shot back.

"Well guess what. I don't need you! I already have another girlfriend, Elizabeth." Drake shouted.

With a scream, Calypso threw herself at him, throwing punches at him, kicking him, calling him names that I dare not repeat. Drake threw Calypso on the ground and stormed away.

"Are you okay? I mean physically, you obviously aren't emotionally ok." I kneeling down to check on her abrasion.

"Leo, just go away, this is all your fault!" She suddenly screamed at me.

I looked at her shocked, "You thinkit's my fault? I just uncovered the truth that he cares nothing for you and he's cheating on you! I did more for you than he did!"

"Just go away, Leo, just please go away." She sobbed.

Tears welled up in my eyes as I turned and walked away. I just noticed people were staring at us.

"Hell are you looking at?" I snapped at them.

It was lunch time when my friends noticed something was wrong. Their first hint was that Calypso was missing. Their secod hint was Drake was holding the waist of another girl. Their final hint was that my hands were completely still, they never stood still. It wasn't a surprise that Annabeth was the only one to connect the dots.

"Leo, did something happen to you, Calypso, and Drake?" Annabeth tentatively asked.

"Wait, something happened?" Jason asked stupidly, receiving a slap on the arm from Piper.

"Did that little shit, Drake do something wrong?" Annabeth asked, while Hazel wiped her forehead and looked around nervously, always the most mannered one among us.

"So what happened, Leo?" Nico asked curiously.

"Drake cheated on Calypso and she found out Drake doesn't care about her and he's friends with Octavian. All this she blames on me." I groaned, putting my head in my hands.

My friends stared at me, shocked.

"I- I don't know what to say, Leo." Percy said sadly.

"You never know what to say." I smirked.

All of them looked at me shocked. "Howcan you joke at times like this?" Travis asked, "even Connor and Iaren't in the mood!"

"I don't like dwelling in the past as the bell rang and I got up to leave, but Jason stopped me, "If you need help, you can always depend on us, buddy."

I smiled as the rest of my friends nodded. "Thank you." I said, and left the cafeteria.

* * *

**A/N: Well, they're back to the hating eachother, or at least Calypso is. Or maybe she's in denial like Leo was. But at least Drake and Calypso is a big no-no now :D. Don't worry, something good will happenin the next chapter. Stay tuned my dear readers! Next chapter should be up this Sunday or Saturday. I live in Taiwan so my time is about 12 hours ahead. I don't want you guys to wait, you're all too great! Stay tuned again! Love ya'll 3**


	13. Chapter 11

**A/N: Hello ya'll here's the chapter I promised! Anyways, I'm leaving for longer than ten days. I won't be able to update until 7/26. I might be able to work on this story during the first summer camp since it's a debate camp, but I can't during the second one. I'm sorry, killing is a no-no, here's a cookie (::) Anyways, read and reveiw, but most importantly, enjoy!**

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Chapter 11

I was an emotional wreck. At least on the inside I was. On the outside, I was my usual happy and carefree self. There were times when I would stare at Calypso in the garden, tending to her flowers. Saturday was one of those times, and Jason caught me looking at her.

"Hey Leo." He said.

I whirled around, surprised, "Hey Jason. Sup?"

"Oh nothing, just looking at you spying on Calypso."

"I wasn't spying on her, I was- Okay, so I was, sue me."

"You know she doesn't hate you."

"Since when were you an expert on girls?" I snorted.

"Well, if your girlfriend is Piper, you really start getting smarter about girls. Anyways, it's kind of obvious that she was just emotionally unstable at that time."

"So you think I have a chance with her?"

"I never said that."

"You really are bad at comforting people, Jason." I rolled my eyes.

"I was just kidding, you should go talk to her."

"Alright, but if she slaps me, I'm coming for you."

I strode down the stairs, both nervous and excited. I opened the door and into the cool morning air. I turned a right and walked towards Calypso's house. When I got there, Calypso had her back to me, shearing the bushes. I wiped my forehead and said, "Hey Calypso." She whirled around and saw me standing there, her eyes widened.

"Hi Leo."

"Long time, eh?"

"Leo, I- I'm sorry for what happened yesterday. I was angry at myself, but I shouldn't have taken that anger out on you. I was never really great with people. "

"Nah, it's alright so am I. I never had any real friends before Jason and Piper." I walked over and kneeled down beside her, "So, how can I help? It's really boring at my house, nothing to do with my hands."

"Well, you could start by helping me plant these new flowers." She answered.

As we worked, I couldn't believe how easily we could start talking again. The morning past quickly as we finished tending to her garden. I was actually sad that we were done. We stood up, and looked at each other for a few seconds. Calypso stood there, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear, inching a bit closer to me. At first I was confused, but then I saw someone over Calypso's shoulder, Piper. What the hell was she doing there? She pointed to Calypso and made a kissing motion with her mouth. Then it dawned on me. Just as Calypso was about to back away. I quickly grabbed her by her shoulders, closed my eyes, and I moved in tentatively, feeling her breath on my lips, our noses and mouth millimeters apart. Then, we kissed. There are no words to describe how great it was. All I can say was that it felt natural. The way our lips pressed against each other, like two puzzle pieces. When we pulled apart, we were both smiling. A small blush was taking form on her face.

"Well..." She said, her blush deepening.

"That was..." I prompted her.

"Nice." She said.

"Nice? Just nice?" I grinned at her discomfort.

She rolled her eyes and punched me in the arm, "Don't get a big head just because we kissed."

I laughed and gave her a quick peckon the lips, dancing away before she could punch me again. I sat down on the steps of her porch, and she sat down beside me.

"To be honest, I've never kissed a girl." I said, slightly embarrassed.(A/N: Haha, don't be Leo, me neither D:)

"Noooo... Not possible." she laughed.

"Why? Wait, lemme guess. Is it because...Well, whatever word you were going to say about me, but youget cut off everytime."

"Yes, yes it is. You aren't completely stupid, I'm surprised."

"That, Ms. Razi, hurts." I gripped my heart in mock pain, "So, is it the rigt time to tell me?"

"Hmm... I don't know..." She teased me, laughing when I pouted, "Oh, alright, it's because-"

She was cut off by her dad, "Calypso, lunch!"

"I gotta go." She said, standing up.

"Are you kidding me?" I groaned, head in my hands.

Just as she was about to go back in, she turnearound and said, "Cute, Leo, I was going to say cute." Then she closed the door.

When I went back home, my thoughts were completely wild. All I could think was, Calypso... Kiss... Cute... My face must of told the story because Piper gave me a thumbs-up and smiled. Jason looked at us confused.

"What happened?" He asked.

"You'll never know." I laughed.

"He and Calypso kissed." Piper piped in.

"Really?" I looked at her exasperated.

"They kissed?" Thalia suddenly popped up, making me groan.

"Awww... You've finally grown up! So who did you kiss?" Mom said, carrying a bag of groceries.

I put my head in my hands, "Oh gods."

"Leo, I'm your mother, I'll find out sooner or later anyways. So who did he kiss."

"Calypso." Jason said, causing me to groan again and leave the room.

Days past quickly as seventh grade came to a close. Calypso and I grew closer each day. At school, she was constantly hit on, but it usually ended in a few seconds as she would usually beat them up. The boys never said a word because they felt embarrassed. Soon, summer vacation began, and Calypso had even more time to spend together. There were days where we would tinker away at one of my projects or we would tend to her garden. There were nights where we would stare up at the night sky and my fingers will tap in sync with the cicadas. Even though we spent so much time together, we never told people we were a couple or had any PDA. In fact I never really went out on a date with Calypso, and I decided to change that.

"Hey, Piper I need some dating tips." I said to her one day when she came over to my house to see Jason.

"So, are you finally admitting you and Calypso are a couple?" She teasingly asked.

I rolled my eyes and continued, "I realized I never asked her out on a date and I need some pointers like where to go, what to say, and what to do."

"Well, she likes Chinese food(A/N: Totally didn't say that becaue I'm from Taiwan :3) and just act like you normally do, but nicer."

"Nicer? I'm totally nice enough!" I said incredulously.

Jason rolled his eyes, "Whatever, dude, good luck!"

The two of them waved me away as Mom looked at us amused, giving me a thumbs up.

"Just don't be too late, remember, Dad is coming home for dinner from work!" She shouted after me.

I internally groaned. It's not that I don't like him... Ok, I don't like him, but that's not the point. He is hardly ever home as he always says he is on a business trip. Haven't these internaitonal businessmen heard of video confrencing? Anyways, I walked up to Calypso's porch and rang the doorbell. I stood there for a few seconds as I heard footsteps coming towards the door. Calyso opened the door and smiled.

"Hey Leo! Sup?" She greeted me.

"Hey Calypso, I was wondering if you're busy at lunch time."

"No, why?"

"You wanna go eat some Chinese food with me? It's only a few blocks."

"Is this a date, Leo Valdez?" She smirked.

I gulped and said, "Yeah."

She smiled, "Ok, let me get my money."

I grabbed her arm as she turned around, "No, I'll pay, it is a date after all."

She smiled and grabbed my hand, "Let's go!"

When we got there, I quickly pulled out Calypso's chair for her to sit down.

"Quite the gentleman, aren't you?" She smiled, sitting down.

I smiled and sat down, "I'm full of surprises."

I looked at the menu and I realized I knew nothing about Chinese food, so I ordered some dumplings to be safe and Calypso ordered 佛跳牆 or pretenders(A/N: Sorry, I don't know the English translation so I used google translate, so here's the how you pronounce it: fo tiao chiang) which had taro, ribs, fish, ham, mushroom, bamboo shoots, scallops, etc. and some rice. When the waitress served our food, I looked at Calypso's dish fearfully.

"C'mon Leo, you should try some!" Calypso laughed.

I gulped as she dumped some of the food onto my plate alogn with some rice. I quickly put the food in my mouth, bracing for some kind of scary taste, but I was shocked.

"Woah! It's actually pretty good!" I said, surprised.

"Now you know what to order the next time we come here." She laughed.

"Ahh... Can't wait for our second date, Ms. Razi, can you?"

"Just eat." She commanded, rollign her eyes, but smiling a bit as she ate her food.

As we ate, we talked askign each other about summer plans and comparing annoying family situations, which I obviously won, with a constantly absent stepdad. When we finished, I paid for our meal, and we walkedoutside, hand in hand.

"So where do you want to go next, Calypso?" I asked.

"I want to go to..."

* * *

**A/N: Didn't want to bore ya'll with some boring crap so I decided to cut right to the chase. How was the kiss part? I'm really inexperienced in those areas. Tell me in the reveiws where you want them to go! Hope you enjoyed it and stay tuned!**

**Blackberry Explosion: Calypso's not great with people and the only person that "cared" for her(note the quotation marks) was Drake so she doesn't really get how to treat people not in her family. Anyways, sorry for the confusion :P**


	14. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

**A/N: Holy balls two weeks without using a computer and updating this story. I had two summer camps in a row, but now I'm back and will be updating regularly, sorry for the long absence. Please read and review, but most importantly, enjoy!**

* * *

Previously

"So where do you want to go next, Calypso?" I asked.

"I want to go to..."

This Time

Before Calypso could finish, the sound of peeling tires cut her off. We turned around and was met with a midnight black car turning the corner, barreling towards us. Before any of us could do anything, a hand emerged from the passenger window, and in that hand was a sleek gray gun. The finger on said hand pulled the trigger twice in quick succession. Time slowed down as I saw two darts shoot out from the barrel, each heading for one of us. I grabbed Calypso and hugged her, using my body as a shield, and felt the two darts puncture my back. It stung for a bit then numbness settled over me. I probably was supposed to get knocked out, but one of my senses still worked, my sense of hearing. I heard Calypso scream, screaming my name. Then I heard men conversing above me.

"Should we take him?" The first one asked.

"No, he's probably dead, most people can't take double the dose." The second answered.

I guess they check my heartbeat to see if I was still alive during the short silence.

"He's dead, no heartbeat, it also seems like his breath is fading, we should go, the police are probably coming." The first man said.

I heard I thump and clang, as if they threw me into a trash can, then I officially went unconscious.

When I came to, I smelled something horrible. I groaned and groped around in the darkness, wondering where I am, then the memories rushed back, my date with Calypso, the mysterious car, the two poisonous darts, the men taking Calypso, and me supposedly dying, getting thrown in the dumpster. I pushed heavily on the lid, getting hit by sharp rays of sunlight. I climbed out of the dump and sprawled onto the ground. I stood up and groaned, getting hit by waves of dizziness. I rubbed my eyes and looked up, realizing there were many people looking back at me. Most of them were either policemen or people I knew.

"Leo!" Mom screamed, rushing towards me, but the police beat her to me.

"Son, what are you doing here?" A cop asked.

I looked around me and saw Mr. Razi kneeling on the ground, head in hands, weeping. I saw Jason Piper, and Thalia running towards me.

"I- I was knocked out by a tranquilizer gun." I stammered.

"Did you see what took place here?"

"Yes I did."

"Could you describe the scene?"

"Well, I was walking with Calypso when a black car swerved in front of us and someone shot two tranquilizer darts at us. I grabbed Calypso and spun her around, then I got hit by the two darts. I kind of blacked out but I could still hear. I heard Calypso scream and two men saying that I didn't have a heartbeat and was slowly dying so they threw me into the dump."

"Son, you're goign to have to come with me."  
"But, I didn't do anything."

"Please don't take my son!" My mom screamed, getting held back by another cop.

"Sorry ma'am, but he is a witness in a dangerous crime, if the kidnappers find out he is alive, he will be killed. He is getting put into a witness protection program for three months."(**A/N: Ok, this isn't really how it works since it usually includes a whole family, but for the story's sake, let's say it works like this haha.**)

My family and friends surged against the arms of the policemen as I was pushed and pulled to a nearby police car. They roughly shoved me in as I struggled, "Let me go!" I screamed. I was shoved into the car and I was taken away along with three other police cars. After we turned the corner, a police car behind us blew up, the carcass of the car was flung up into the air. I stared shocked as we kept on going. When we got to the police station, I was forced into a room with a single light bulb. I blinked as my eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness and I saw a man sitting across from me.

"Leo Valdez." He said.

"What do you want?" I asked.

"You were killed in the explosion, you are no longer Leo Valdez, you are now Zigor Harper."

"You killed a policeman just to fake my death?"

"It was an unmanned vehicle with fake bodies, the body in the backseat will be confirmed as yours. Now, you will be sent to Maine first thing when night comes. The reason we're doing this is because you have been mixed up with one of the most dangerous criminal organization called the Shadow Syndicate." Another appeared at the door and said, "Please come with me now Zigor. I have the new official files of you that I want you to study."

I was led into a bed room with a locked door. I looked around me, taking in my surroundings. There was a small cot in one corner, a toilet and sink in another, and a desk and chair on one side. Sitting on the desk was a folder with Zigor Harper stamped on it. I walked towards the desk and plopped down in the chair and opened the file and began to read.

Name: Zigor Harper

Age:13

Birthplace: Phoenix, Arizona

Family:...

I stopped at family as tears welled up in my eyes. I thought of all the good times I've had with the Graces. A sense of loss and defeat washed over me and I started to sob uncontrollably. I screamed and flung the file across the room. I lay there, weeping, crying myself to sleep.

I was woken by a rough shaking. I got up and blinked my eyes and saw the man who brought me here pull me up.

"Zigor, it's time to go." He said gently.

"Ok." I mumbled and followed him out of the door. We went to a waiting airplane outside and we were ushered in.

"So, Zigor, did you read your file?" The man asked.

"I- I stopped at 'family'." I said sullenly.

"Well, let me fill you in on that part. You only have a father, your mother left us when you were born. Oh, by the way, I'm your new father, I'm John Harper. we left Phoenix since I found a much better job up in Auburn, Maine." He continued to tell me about my new identity as we touched down in Maine. When we got there, we were taken to an apartment.

"Here's your room Zigor." John said, "You should rest."

Days passed in a blur. Every morning I woke up with my eyes red from crying. I seems as if every time I settled down, I ran, except this time I was forced to run. Everyday I was scared for Calypso. Every time I asked John about her, he told me to forget about my old life. Finally, on the fifth day, I decided to take action I opened up our computer and went into incognito(**A/N: No he's not going to do that -.-**) and searched up the Shadow Syndicate. The only thing I learned about them was that they were situated within a 10 mile radius of my old home in New York. I searched up Calypso Razi and saw a news article and I opened it. In the article, it was said that the car was heading north from a police report and that the police are dispatching forces to track them down, put each time, failing, each time, no policeman returned. I quickly exited the windows and ran back to the kitchen. I looked at the clock and realized that there was about an hour before John came home from work. I quickly stuffed some food and water into my backpack along with a map, a black hoodie, and some kitchen knives. I ran outside and found a bike beside a sidewalk with it's rider dismounting, getting ready to lock it. I quickly rushed over and knocked him over and hopped on his bike, pedalling away with it's owner screaming for someone to catch me. I continued to pedal as his cries died in the distance. Slowly, the city gave away and I was nearing a train station. After I dismounted, I knelt down beside the station, waiting for a freight train to pass by. Half an hour passed before a train neared the station. I waited for it to being accelerating before jumping onto one of the empty cars.

"Calypso, I'm coming." I said to no one in particular.

Third Person

Back in New York, Leo's friends were devastated. Not only was Leo dead, Calypso was kidnapped. Mr. Razi stayed in his house, hardly ever coming out. He sat down on his desk and stared at a picture in his hand, a picture of him, his wife, and Calypso. After losing his wife, Calypso was all he had, and now, this happened. He blames himself for Calypso's kidnapping and Leo's death. If only he hadn't gotten himself mixed up with the Shadow Syndicate, this wouldn't have happened. The ring of a doorbell interrupted his thoughts. He grabbed a knife from the kitchen and slowly but swiftly walked to the door. He peered through window and saw no one, but instead saw a letter lying on the ground. He slowly opened the door and grabbed the letter slamming the door shut. He cut open the letter and a picture fell out. He picked up the picture and looked at it, a sob escaping from his mouth. On the picture was Calypso tied to a chair, blood covered her left arm, her shirt in tatters and a man stood beside her with a knife, slowly cutting her left arm. He looked a the piece of paper attached to it. The paper demanded $1,000,000 to be brought by him personally to an address. If anyone else came, Calypso, would get her fingers slowly cut off then killed. Stifling a sob, he put on his coat and drove to the bank.

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**A/N:Well, what do you think? How much will you rate it out of 10? Sorry if it was not really great, I may be a bit rusty from my 2 week absence. Anyways, hope you liked it, and if you didn't, please tell me why, I'll improve! Please tell me! Until then, Stay tuned!**

_Poll: This is extremely important, should I involve non-Greek or Roman supernatural elements in this story?_


	15. Chapter 13

**A/N: Ahh... Finally pumped this chapter out. I was working on another fanfic about an anti-hero that was also a PJO one. Anyways, don't worry, I won't be distracted! Read and review, but most importantly, enjoy!**

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Chapter 13

_Still in Third Person(At the Graces on the day of Leo's supposed death)_

The Graces, including Zeno Aigiochos, the father, sat at the table, silently eating, tears welling up in their eyes(except for Zeno, of course).

"Why are all of you crying?" Zeno finally asked incredulously.

"Are you out of your mind?!" Jason shouted as Mrs. Grace broke down crying, "Leo's dead!"

"Well crying isn't gonna bring him back now is it?!" He shouted back, "Besides, he's just an adopted child; not even part of the family!"

That's when Mrs. Grae completely lost it, for the sake of keeping this T, I'll cut out part of what she said, haha., "Leo has been with us all the time and how 'bout you, huh? For more than 90% percent of the time, you were never here with us. You weren't like this when I met you! I don't even know why I'm still married to you!"

"You know what, fine! I don't want to have anything to do with all of you! All you ever done to me is taking my money! Fuck it, I'm leaving!" Zeno slammed his fork down and walked towards the door, "I hope Leo burns in hell!"

Thalia's eyes bulged out when he said that and she grabbed a knife and dashed forward, aiming for her soon to be ex-stepfather. Zeno spun around at the sound of her footsteps and knocked her over. Soon, it became a three on one against Zeno, ending with him stumbling out the door, cursing.

"Is he gone for good now?" Jason asked, huffing.

"He will be." Mrs. Grace said, while checking on her children.

_Calypso's POV_

The men that captured me pulled a bag over my head and gave me a shot, causing me to fall unconscious, my last thought was, _Leo, what happened to you?_ Needless to say, I was scared before passing out.

When I woke up, I was tied to a chair, the bag off my head, and in a room with two flickering light bulbs and the sound of dripping water in the background, _plip plip plip…_ I sat there for a while in silence, dreading what would happen to me, wondering what happened to Leo, and why they were after me. Finally after at least an hour, two men walked in, one holding a camera and the other one holding a knife.

"Who are you?" I croaked, throat parched.

"What makes you think we'll tell you sweetie?" The one with the knife said, smiling.

"What did you do to Leo?"

"He's dead, took both of the darts, died of overdose." The other one said gruffly. Tears welled up in my eyes and spilled out as I started to weep, whispering, "Leo…" As I cried in sorrow.

"Now, hold still sweetie, this will hurt a bit." The knife guy said, advancing upon me as the other one readied his camera. He grabbed my left arm and placed the edge of the knife against it. My eyes opened wide when I knew what he was planning to do. I screamed in pain as he slashed downwards, drawing blood. My screams echoed across the small enclosed room. Before I could stop, he started to cut my arm again, his tempo getting faster and faster each cut, until I nearly passed out from the pain. After the fifth cut, he finally stopped and grabbed my hair and pulled my head so I was facing the camera.

"Say cheese!" The cameraman said as he snapped a picture.

_Leo's POV_

(**Leo: About time! Me: Shut up, no one likes you! -gets pulverized by everyone**)

When the train got to New York, I quickly jumped off the train and made a run for it. Thankfully humans are lazy and I wasn't caught. I settled to a jog and started to walk back home.

After a day of jogging then walking in a repeated cycle, I finally got to familiar area. A bit too familiar; I was home. I knelt behind a bush looking at my house, wondering whether or not to go in. In the end I decided not to as I already pissed off the cops when I ran away from my new identity and if I had to piss them off one last time, I wanted to blow my cover to save Calypso. I looked at the map in my hand and quickly found the place where Calypso was kidnapped and where I "died". With the news report of the 10-mile radius as my one of my two leads-the other one being them being in the North-, I began my journey, that is after I stole some food and water as I have exhausted a third of my supplies.

As I searched the northern part of the city, I came across a parked police car at midnight, with no one inside. I crept inside and tried the door, realizing it was unlocked. Coming to the conclusion that the cop did that because he would be back soon, I quickly looked for the police radio thing Peter Parker used in the original movies(**A/N: I forgot which one haha**). When I got it, I quickly departed and started to find a place to sleep. I finally settled for the dumpster of a closed restaurant.

Thank god I was a shallow sleeper, or else I would've been killed and my things taken. In the extremely early morning when the sun was just rising, I was woken by the sound of laughing and boots against gravel. My eyes instantly shot open and I discreetly grabbed a kitchen knife that I brought along with me. I peeped open an eye and was relieved that he was along and was talking to someone on his cell phone. When he saw me, he said a quick goodbye to the person on the other end and slowly advanced on me, oblivious of the fact that I was awake, alert, and really pissed off. I mean, who the hell mugs someone at freaking 4 in the morning? When he got close to me, he pulled a pistol from his coat and slowly reached towards me. Prioritizing not getting shot in the head, I quickly rolled to the side and slashed at his wrist, causing him to howl in pain. When he stood up, I realized the only reason he didn't take a shot in time was because he was drunk, as he was slightly stumbling. He staggered towards the dropped gun, but in his drunken state, he was surprisingly slower than me. I beat him to the gun and raised it, pointing the gun at him.

"Don't move." I snarled.

"Not moving." The drunk said, while wobbling about.

I decided to tease him and said, "Stop wobbling."

His face contorted as he tried to stop wobbling, but I quickly dashed forward and knocked him unconscious. seeing that I was already up, I decided to continue my search.

After another hour of my walk/jog and listening to the police radio, I finally heard that damned radio crackle something useful _Bzzt, Attention all officers of the North District, we have found the approximate location of the Shadow Syndicate, it's on Amber Third Street, down an alley way of a machine shop, Bzzt._ I scanned the map for the place and realized that I was only five blocks away. I looked around for any kinds of transportation and found a bike lying on the sidewalk, discarded.(**A/N: Funny how convenient it is for Leo, right?**) Anyways, I pedaled down the street for a while and I found the machine shop with a dark alley. I slowly walked towards the alley and saw a metal door on top of a short staircase. The metal door had a metal slit that could be opened from the inside. I slammed my fist on the door and pressed the gun barrel against the slit. The second the slit opened, I pulled the trigger. Unfortunately, the gun didn't have a silencer and the shot rang out like a crack of thunder.(**Me: Haha, not so convenient now, is it? Leo:-smashes me with his hammer-**) Cursing, I quickly hid in the shadow of the side of the staircase and prayed for someone to open the door. After a few seconds, someone did indeed open the door and I quickly aimed and shot him in the head. All this I done without remorse as I know that they were the ones who took Calypso. I grabbed the door before it closed and slipped in. That's when I realized my mistake. The hallway that led from the door had two gangsters standing there. Let me tell you one thing, villain don't shoot as inaccurately as they do in movies. One of them placed a shot in my leg and I fell down, pain shooting up my leg like fire.

"Grab him." My assailant said, motioning for his companion to lift me up.

"What should we do with him?" His companion asked.

"Toss him in with the girl, we're running out of cells. After that, then we tell the boss. Take his bag."

I felt my backpack getting slung off form my shoulder and then I was lifted and carried down the hall. The whole time I was thinking, _Are they talking about Calypso?_

After a minute or so, They got to a door and tossed me in, along with a bandage to stop me from bleeding out. I quickly patched myself up and gathered my surroundings. The small room was lit up by two flickering light bulbs and their was an obnoxious sound of dripping water, _plip plip plip…_ Sitting in the middle of the room was a familiar cinnamon hair. Calypso.

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**A/N: Yeap, that's how Leo finds Calypso! Not completely heroic, but hey, he got balls and determination, even I respect that :P Anyways, how much would you rate it out of 10? Hope you enjoyed! Stay tuned 3**


	16. Chapter 14

**A/N: Sorry for the wait, but I've been trying to think of new ideas for the story. Don't worry I still know what to right, it takes place a bit further into the story and skipping a whole year is not something I want to do. Anyways, please read and review, but most importantly, enjoy!**

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Chapter 14

I scurried over to Calypso to check on her condition. I gently shook her, "Calypso, wake up, it's me, Leo."

"Le- Leo?" She whispered.

"And the sleeping beauty awakes." I said, smiling.

"You were dead."

"Nah, I'm not that good at staying dead, not enough action."

"But how?"

"Well, I guess I'm a medical miracle, eh?" I said, spreading my arms.

"How did you get here? Your mom definitely wouldn't let out after what happened."

"Well… Everyone thinks I'm dead because of witness protection. The cops faked my death and gave me a new identity. I ran away after a few days of moping about and here I am!"

Before Calypso could say anything, a man came in, brandishing a gun, "Leo Valdez, come with me."

"Where are you taking me?" I asked, scared.

Without saying anything, he pointed the gun at me.

"Okay, coming." I put my hands behind my head and walked forward.

"Leo…" Calypso said, eyes filled with fear.

"It's gonna be alright." I reassured her, but I was also trying to reassure myself.

"It's not gonna be alright." The man laughed, stepping outside to give me room to leave. When I set my foot out of the threshold, he immediately swung his gun at me. Unfortunately for him, I was extremely alert and I ducked the swing and he went off balance. I kicked his legs out from under him and he fell. I wrenched the gun out of his hands when his grip loosened and pointed the gun at his head.

"I want you to let Calypso leave, and take me to your boss." I threatened him.

"I'd rather die." He sneered.

I put my finger on the trigger, hesitant to shoot this time, but suddenly, an explosion knocked me off my feet. The man shot to his feet and kicked me in the head, hard. He pointed the gun at my head, licking his lips in anticipation to kill me. The millisecond before he pulled the trigger, another explosion rocked the building, This time it was closer, spraying debris everywhere. Instead of the bullet punching a hole into my face, it drilled into my chest. Suddenly, I couldn't breathe properly and my vision started to get clouded. I heard the sound of a massive amount of footsteps clamber towards me. A man kneeling in front of me, his shirt saying paramedic. THen everything went black.

_Calypso's POV_

The second explosion probably saved Leo's life. Instead of getting shot in the head, he was shot in the chest. Not much better, but maybe he won't die. Nevertheless, I still screamed. A group of DEA and SWAT troopers thundered around the corner. A paramedic quickly kneeled at Leo's side and began to transport him outside while tending to his wounds, cleaning it. Another paramedic ran to me and started to tend to my arms. I couldn't say anything, I just opened and closed my mouth like a fish. Another gurney was brought back into the room and I was laid on it, carried out, in shock. I was pushed into the back of an ambulance and was transported away, probably to a hospital.

_Leo's POV_

I woke up once again to the sound of a heart monitor beeping. This time there was a nurse in the room, sitting beside my bed. When she saw that I was awake, she handed me a cup of water.

As I drank she talked to em about my injuries, "You suffered a concussion in the head and you were shot in the chest, breaking open some capillaries in your lungs. You almost died. It was a miracle you survived, just like last time with the tranquilizer darts."

"Where's Calypso?" I groaned, it hurt even to talk.

"Mr. Valdez, you should really avoid moving right now, and that includes talking. Ms. Razi is fine, she suffered form lacerations on her arms with minor blood loss."

I closed my eyes and fell back asleep.

When I woke up again, Calypso was beside me, her arm wrapped in bandages.

"Hey." She said, smiling through tears.

"Hey." I said back.

"You came to me."

"Of course I did."

"I overheard some officers talking about whether or not to reveal that you're alive."

"Eh, they'll probably reveal it, it's not like they can make you keep quiet."

"They can try." She laughed, "Anyways, I'm getting discharged today, good luck!" She said, and leaned forward to kiss me on my lips. Unfortunately, when I leaned up for more, my chest flared in pain.

"Don't worry Leo, I'll be waiting for you." She smiled and left. I closed my eyes and fell back asleep.

A few days later, I was discharged, and it seems that the government has decided that they will be leaving me alone. I arrived at my house via taxi. I walked up to my house and unlocked the door with my key that was previously kept by the police. I opened the door and peered in, I heard the faint sound of a movie playing. I closed the door behind me.

"Mom? Jason? Thalia?" I called out. Suddenly, someone crashed into me. The person hugged me really hard and broke into tears.

"Leo…" Mom whimpered, hugging me even tighter, as if I would disappear any second.

"I missed you mom." I started to cry, realizing how alone I was without my family. I heard doors slam adn footsteps trot down the staircase. It was Thalia and Jason. I was crushed by more crying bodies, crushed in their loving hugs. I was back home.

When ninth grade began, people looked at Calypso and I in awe, all except for Drake and Octavian, they obviously still hates us. At least now no one bullies me since people have heard what I did to get to Calypso. Ninth grade was full of buzz since we were going to have our graduation ceremony. While other American schools have it at eighth grade, we have it at ninth grade because the person who founded our school was Chinese and they have graduation ceremonies at sixth, ninth, and twelfth. People cluttered to our table at lunch but I usually don't pay them much attention since these were the same people that treated me like I was inferior. Maybe one day I'll forgive and forget, but today isn't the day. Another thing happened during ninth grade that surprised everyone in our little circle.

I was walking with Calypso, holding her hand, fingers intertwined. We were walking through the park on this Sunday evening. It was a bit chilly out, but Calypso was wearing my coat. As for me, well, I'll just have to hack it. Anyways,l when we turned around and were about to leave. I heard a familiar voice, Thalia.

"Was that Thalia?" Calypso whispered.

"Yeah, I think so," I replied, pulling her behind a bush. We saw Thalia and Nico walking together, talking. They started to turn around, heading towards my home.

"C'mon Calypso," I said excitedly, "I wanna get some dirt on Thalia."

A few minutes later, we were home before the pair of lovebirds. The other pair, that is. After I installed a hidden camera in the bush, Calypso and I waited in my room with a screen displaying a live feed from the two of us waited for Thalia and Nico to walk into veiw. Sure enough, after a few seconds of waiting, they appeared at our door.

"How was that for a first date?" Nico asked her.

"It was great. Best date I've ever had, to be honest." Thalia said, smiling.

"Really?" Nico's face lighted up.

"Yeah, but I've never dated before so… This is also the worst date." Thalia laughed.

Nico pouted and Thalia rolled her eyes, "Guess you'll have to prove to me you can give me an awesome date."

"Guess I do." Nico smiled.

Thalia leaned forward a bit, instantly taking the hint, Nico moved forward and kissed her lightly on the lips. They started to kiss deeper until Thalia pulled away, blushing.

"Thanks for the date, it was really great." Thalia smiled, her face slowly regaining it's original color.

"My pleasure." Nico smiled back.

"Well I should get going." Thalia gave him a quick peck on the lips and hurried back inside. Nico stood there for a few seconds, wearing a goofy smile. As he turned to leave, his eyes swept across the camera. When he saw it, his face changed into a mask of horror. He pulled the camera from the bush and groaned, "Oh shit, I'm so dead." He stashed the camera back into the bush. We caught one last thing before he left, "But not before I get to Leo."

I looked at Calypso and gulped, "Was it that obvious it was me?"

"Well only you could make something like that." She laughed. I knew I shouldn't have used a homemade camera!

"Well, Thalia would get to me first, not sure if that's better or not." I groaned.

Calypso laughed and said, "Well, I should get going to Leo." I walked her to her home, slowly, savoring every moment with her. We shared a quick but sweet kiss under her porch light and we parted ways.

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**A/N:Well, that's chapter 14! Hope you liked it. How much out of 10? Remember giving me constructive feedback about bad parts will help me improve and will lead to a better story and a happier you. Anyways, please check out my other fanfic Vengeful Winds which is another Percy Jackson one, if you have the time to spare to help me out, thanks! Stay tuned! Zebu out!**


	17. Update:Help!

Hey guys! Sorry this isn't a chapter, but it is an important update so please read on!

1. From now on this story will be updated on Sundays.

2. I need new ideas because I have no idea what to write right now:(

Please tell me in the reviews, thanks!


	18. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

**A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews on how to continue my story, but I don't realy want to end this story just yet. Anyways, a huge thank you to PurpleShadow73 for PMing me, telling me how I should continue this story. I can not thank you enough. Don't worry, I equally love all of you 3 Anyways, like always, please read and review, but most importantly, enjoy!**

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I didn't have time fretting over what Thalia and Nico would do to me. Something even worse was about to happen. Three days before our final exams, Calypso came to me.

"Leo, we have to talk." Calypso said, eyes red from crying.

"Are you alright?" I looked left and right down the halls making sure we were alone, "Are we breaking up?"

Calypso laughed sadly behind her tears, "No, we're not breaking up, Leo, but here's something really important I have to tell you: I'm moving away after the exams."

"Wha?" I was completely speechless.

"My- My dad is being sent overseas to work, and-" She started to sob into my chest. I looked forward, dread coursing through my body, dreading what she would say next.

"And we're moving to China."

The moment those words left her lips, I was crushed with anguish. We had one last week together.

All of our friends were extremely sad. We were really close together and it was like losing a sister to them. For me, it was worse. I felt like losing a part of me. With her in China, communication just got a whole lot harder. Even though we tried to spend as much time with Calypso, but the exams were coming up and our parents put pressure on us to study.

"Leo, I know it's hard to lose someone you love, but don't let that ruin your education. I don't want you repeating my same mistakes." Mom told me when I brought her the news.(A/N: In my story, when she was in labor with Jason, Ms Grace's husband died in a car crash on the way to the hospital. This happened when they were in college and could raise kids because Mr. Grace's family was rich, but hated Ms. Grace so didn't help her.)

I trudged back into my room and locked it, flipping open my Chemistry notes. I tried to soak it up like Mom told me, but whenever I looked at the chemical equations and formulas, the only one I could think of was the one of Calypso and me. After a painful hour of trying, I looked out my window. I saw a group of teenage kids, walking down the street, illegally smokign and drinking. That's when I thought of a way to get alone time with Calypso.

I called Jason and Thalia over to my room, "Guys, I really need your help right now."

"It's about Calypso, isn't it?" Jason asked.

"Yeah."

"And you need some quality alone time with her." Thalia added on.

"Okay, can you read my mind? Whatever. So I was thinking all of us, Piper, Percy, Annabeth, Grover, Juniper, Nico, Hazel, Frank, Calypso, could hold a group study session so I can get out of here and meet with Calypso."

Jason and Thalia looked a each other for a few seconds.

"Sure, why not?" Jason turned and told me.

Within half an hour, all of us were at a coffee shop, studying, all except for Calypso and me. The two of us walked hand in hand, wandered around the town. We stayed there all day, enjoying eachother's presence. When it was night, we went to the garden, looking up at the night sky. We would share quick short kisses that soon grew into long passionate ones. I wouldn't be surprised if passersby looked at us funny.

Then our inevitable exams came. Needless to say, I didn't do as well as I could, but fortunately, I was a smart kid and I probably still managed to get around a B+ or A- for each of the tests. Calypso and I spent our study periodsin between exams together, studying, as we couldn't really not study, that would be blissful, but asinine.

Our hidden dates went on until the last day of the exams, the day before Calypso was leaving. Calypso was leaving for the airport at five in the morning, so we had one last date. The night before Calypso left, I took her to the Chinese restaurant where we had our first date. We subconscoiusly ordered the exact same thing we order on that date, dumplings and a pretender (A/N: Again, I'm not sure if "pretender" is the correct translation). When the food came, the two of us started to cry, realizing how far we had come and that it was all going to end soon. After we finished, we walked outside, hand in hand, through the park. We sat down on a patch of grass, and lied down on the ground, he head using my arm as a pillow. I turned over and looked at her perfect features.

"Calypso." I said.

"Yeah?" She turned over and looked at me.

"I love you." I knew that I loved her, but saying it was different.

"I love you, too, Leo." She said backto me with tear filled eyes.

We embraced eachother, letting our love warm us up. We looked into eachother's eyes, drinking everything in, trying to remember every single second. Slowly, we started to kiss under the moon light. Carressing each other's face and body (A/N: No! Not in any R rated way... This is a T rated story :)). Though both of us were reluctant to leave, we couldn't stay the night.

The day I dreaded finally came. All our friends, came to send Calypso off, to say our good byes. I made her a gift during the nights without her, a heart shaped locket made of shining bronze with a piece of sapphire set into the middle. In the locket was a picture of the two of us kissing. The gift cost me all my life savings along with part of Jason's.

"Good bye mi hermosa reina," I said to her, openly crying, not afraid of showing my emotions, "My beautiful queen."

"Bye, Leo." Calypso said, equally sad.

"I love you." I whispered, embracing her.

"I love you, too, my hero." She whispered back, every single word filled with meaning.

We had one last long, passionate kiss. Then she had to leave. I stayed at the airport until I could no longer see the airplane she was on.

Everytime our times coincided, Calypso and I video chatted with each other. This made my life both happier and sadder. One day, all of this stopped. One of China's ambassadors were killed in the U.S. and since then, China has cut off all communications with the U.S. In short, I could no longer talk to Calypso. There were even rumors that China would declare war with the U.S. Everyday, I would wake up, eat, go to school, go home, eat, sleep. Except for drinking water and relieving myself, I did nothing else. My friends would try to comfort me in their own way.

"I know you'll never stop thinking about her, but reading can help distract you." Annabeth said.

"There are a lot of fish in the sea." Percy said. No wonder Annabeth called him "Seaweed Brain."

Their own way of comforting me was unique, but it didn't help me. I would live my days in sadness, but eventually, I crawled out of my depressed shell. I tried my best to be who I used to be, but my friends could tellthat something happened to me that couldn't be healed. Years passed by like this. I didn't attend any of the dances or even Senior Prom. I tried to avoid seeing couples but it was a futile attempt. Percy and Annabeth, Frank and Hazel, Piper and Jason, Grover and Juniper, and even Thalia and Nico, were happy together, but I knew they were all I got, so I swallowed down my jealousy, and even despise, and continued to hang out with them. Slowly, my years of high school passed. I had nothing to do during those long years so I studied. I ended up getting a near perfect GPA and a 2400 in my SAT. I was enrolled into MIT on a scholarship, but I was still depressed on the inside. On somedays, I would look at the moon, thinking of Calypso. What's happening to her? Is she imprisoned for the mere fact of being a previous American citizen? I may never find these answers.

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**A/N: Well there's another chapter. Sorry it's so short, but you'll see why after my next chapter!**

**Leo: Goddamnit Michael, you just had to make my life hard?**

**Me: Oh hey Leo. Sorry, but hey, that's the story.**

**Leo: Why you little ***********************************************.**

**Michael Yew: Chill Leo, at least you're in the story! As for you, Michael, how could you not put a fellow Michael into your story?! **

**I know I said I'll update on Sundays, but I felt like updating today on a whim. From now on, I'll update whenIwant to but I won't go radio silence for more than a week. Well that's that, stay tuned!**

**Michael out!**


	19. Part 2: Chapter 16: 10 Years Later

Chapter 16

**A/N: So, here ya go, chapter 16! Please read and review, but most importantly, enjoy!**

I sat up in my bed and yawned rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.

"Good morning, Leo." A voice said to me.

"Morning to you, too, Festus." I said back to Festus, the somewhat sentient program that ran my house.(**A/N: I know, just like Tony Stark's. But hey, Leo is a genius!)**

The woman sleeping beside me sat up, eyes still slightly closed.

"Morning, Sam.." I smiled and kissed her on the forehead.

"Morning Leo." She smiled happily at me

"Good morning Samantha." Festus said.

"Hey Festus, can you give us a brief weather report?" Samantha requested.

"Today is going to be a bit cloudy and at temperatures of 25 degrees Celsius." What can I say, I prefer the metric system and the Celsius degrees. I got up to prepare breakfast, which meant that it was going to involve bacon again. After eating an extremely fattening breakfast with my beautiful girlfriend, we parted our ways to go to each of our jobs. I got in my car that I built myself and drove to my office building. It was a huge building that had the words: United States of Technology on the face of the building. I parked my car and walked into the building.

"Good morning, Mr. Valdez." The woman at the front desk said. I waved my greeting and kept on walking. As I walked to my office, pretty much everyone greeted me. As you can probably tell, I'm famous here. Oh wait, I own this company, haha. My secretary, Michael Yew, came up to me.

"Sir, you have a speech to give to the graduating students at MIT next week and today you have a meeting concerning the future of our latest product that you developed, the-"

"Yes, I know the Argo II." The Argo II was a self navigating car that can also second as a boat. It can make split second decisions to avoid accidents and can access information concerning traffic, such as traffic jams and red green lights, to calculate the fastest way possible to your destination. It can also access security cameras and satellites to record live feeds of surrounding cars to see the cause of traffic accidents, "So what's the problem now?"

"Well, apparently, it's illegal for us to access the security cameras we need to schedule a meeting with Google to be granted the access to their satellites."

"Right, thanks Michael." We entered my office and I sat down on my chair.

"Anything else, sir?"

"Yes. First of all, please stop calling me sir, it's weird, and second of all, tell Piper about the meeting with Google so she can prepare."

"Right away, sir, I mean, Mr. Valdez."

"Just call me Leo, for Christ's sake!" I called to his retreating figure. I shook my head as I rubbed my eyes, preparing the meeting that will be scheduled with Google in a few days. When lunch came, I asked Michael to bring me my lunch since I had a hunch that the Argo II will be a huge success so I wanted it to work. When it was dinner, I called Samantha, telling her I'll be home late. Half an hour later, someone bursted into my room.

"Leo! I got tickets for you, me, Piper, and Samantha to go to Percy's worldwide swimming competition!" Jason yelled in my face, jolting me from my state of concentrated thought.

"I'm terribly sorry, sir, I mean Leo, I tried to ask him to wait." Michael came in shortly afterwards.

"Leo! Jason got-" Piper bursted in, stopping when she saw Jason standing there, "Oh, hey, guys."

"Hello Mrs. Grace." Michael said, flustered that two people got into my office on his watch.**(A/N: That's right, Piper and Jason married :) )**

"Hey there babe." Jason kissed her.

"'Sup, Piper." I greeted her, wearily, "Michael tell you about the Google meeting?"

"Yeah, whatever, not important, so do you have time tomorrow?" Piper said excitedly.

"Oh alright, I 'suppose it is important to Percy." I stood up and started to pack my stuff

"Catch you later, Leo!" Jason waved to me, walking away, hand in hand with Piper.

"So, any new leads on Calypso?" I asked Michael.

"I'm sorry, but no. After China opened itself up back to the US, I couldn't find any files about Calypso. Not even the Stoll brothers could." Michael said to me apologetically. He knew that ever since I became rich, I secretly pooled in part of my resources to look for Calypso. The only people who knew were Michael and my childhood friends. I sighed and picked up my stuff and walked out of my office with Michael trailing behind me.

"Look, if there's anything I can do, just tell me." He said to me, looking at me sympathetically.

"Thanks Michael, you're a good friend."

When I got home, it was eight o'clock and Samantha was sitting there, reading a book.

"Hey, I'm home honey." I said to her, exhausted.

She looked up and quickly ran over to hug me, "Hey, sweetie, what were you doing at work today?"

"Oh, just planning a meeting with Google." I said and plopped down on the couch. Samantha hurried and got me the take out from a Chinese restaurant down the street.

"Thanks." I said and chowed down on the delicious dumplings in the plastic container. Our night passed by quickly, the two of us relaxing, watching TV, talking about work with each other and what we're up to lately.

"So, Jason got tickets for all of us to go to Percy's game tomorrow at six o'clock."

"Oh, sure, it's not like my job is that important." She said, excited to do something different.

"You may think it's not important, but anything is important, babe." I kissed her forehead, "I'm going to go to sleep first." I stood up and walked to my comfy bed.

"I love you, Leo." She called to me.

"Love you, too." I called back.

We got to the stadium at five fifty and quickly got to our seats.

"Percy better win, I'm betting a lot of money on him." Jason said, nervously.

"You betted on your friends race?" Piper looked at him incredulously.

"You can bet?!" I shouted. I would've betted all the money I got. That Percy Jackson can swim like a shark!

"Leo!" Samantha swatted my arm.

"Hey guys!" A familiar blond sat down beside us.

"Hey Annabeth! Did you know you can bet here?" I asked her, annoyed that no one told me you can.

"Yeah, well, it's not really official, it's the Stolls who are holding it."

"Can you believe that Jason betted?" Piper asked her

"Well of course! I mean I placed my bet on him!" We all laughed as Piper groaned, "But hey, that's not why I came alright, it's just an external benefit."

An announcer cut through the buzzing audience and began to introduce the swimmers.

"...AND IN LANE NUMBER EIGHT WE HAVE PERSEUS JACKSON!" He bellowed, eliciting cheers, whistles, screams, and applauses from the audience, a third of them were girls squealing, while Annabeth glared daggers at them. The horn blew a few seconds later and the contestants lept into the water, surging forward as if they were born to swim. This particular competition was the hardest as it was the longest one. The swimmers swam lap after lap at a test of endurance. Until it was the final lap, it was all about speed. The swimmers pulled at the water, gaining in speed. When they were no more than a meter away, Percy suddenly put on some more speed and finished the race in first. Half of the crowd broke into cheers as Percy pulled himself out of the water, weakly shaking a fist in the air.

After the awards were presented, we waited for Percy to get away from the reporters and fangirls. We covered Percy in hugs and congratulated him on his victory.

"Thanks guys. He smiled at us, still somewhat exhausted."

"C'mon, let's go celebrate! Dinner's on me!" I shouted, fueled by the euphoric feeling of happiness for my friend. Biggest, Mistake. Ever.

_TO BE CONTINUED_

**A/N: Ah… There ya go, I finally put Michael Yew into my story :3. Anyways, what did you think about it? How much out of 10? Sorry this one was kind of rushed :P Anyways, if you didn't like it, please tell me why and try to stick around like you always had because it can only get better with the help of all of you! Stay tuned!**

**Michael out!**


	20. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

**A/N: Hey guys, sorry I was caught up with my computer programming homework and visiting grandparents so almost fainted when I saw how less time I had to update :P Anyways, please read and review, but most importantly, enjoy!**

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We stopped at a local Italian restaurant to celebrate Percy's victory. It was quite a fancy restaurant, so my dear friends decided to spend as much money as possible since I was basically Bill Gates at this point of my life. We ended up spending more than 100 dollars. See, good friends I have here. When we finished, we ordered some wine.

"To Percy Jackson!" I said, holding a toast.

"To Percy Jackson!" Everyone, but Percy said. We all downed our drinks and cheered. A few minutes later, we decided to call it a night.

Samantha and I walked back to our car, talking happily. As we neared our car, we heard a muffled woman scream.

"Di- Did you hear that?" I asked Samantha.

She was kind of tipsy as she was always a light dinner

"Hear what?" She giggled and staggered a bit.

"Hold on." Another muffled scream pierced my attentive ears, "Sam, go back to the car."

"Ok." She giggled a bit more and walked back to the car.

I slowly crept towards the alley I heard the suffering screams from. I got to the dark valley between the buildings and looked around the corner. I saw silhouettes of men pushing around a woman, groping her. A shaft of moonlight temporarily found its way into the alley and allowed me to glimpse something that nearly made me shout in surprise. I saw a blanket of familiar cinnamon colored hair. _Calypso! _

Without thinking, I walked into the alley and grabbed the first thing in my pocket, a gun. Hey, don't blame me, I'm a rich man, I'm the target of rival companies.

"St- Stop!" I stammered.

Everyone turned around and looked at me, but I still couldn't see Calypso properly.

"Who the hell are you?" One of them said, flipping out a switch blade.

I pointed my Colt .45 at them, "You don't need to know, but you should know. Now, let the girl go."

The one beside him pulled out a gun and pointed it at me.

"You wanna take your chances, you little fuck?" He spat at me.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. So far, no one else pulled out a gun so it seems like I wasn't _that_ screwed. I opened my eyes and exhaled. Without warning, I hit the ground, swung the barrel around and shot blindly. Fortunately, I didn't kill him and only hit his hand that held the gun.

"Now, I want you all to strip down to your underwear and come out of the alleyway. Any sudden movements and I shoot."

I steadily walked forward and scrapped the gun over to me with my foot and slid it onto the sidewalk outside. They men slowly stripped down to their underwear so I could know that they are unarmed.

"Now, slide me a cell phone."

One of them slid me their cheap Nokia phone and I picked it up. With my gun still pointed at them, I quickly dialed 911. After calling the cops, I ordered them to come out on the sidewalk and lay prostrate on the ground. Pedestrians had already gathered around all of us when they heard the commotion. I heard urgent whispers and my name was among one of the words. See, I'm famous, yay! I saw flashes from cell phones, I silently cursed under my breath. Last thing I want is people getting the wrong idea. The woman walked out of the shadows. I turned and prepared to run to Calypso, but there was one teensy problem: She wasn't Calypso. Her eyes were blue, not dark almond. She was shorter than Calypso and her build was different.

I swallowed down my disappointment and stuck out my hand and a bright smile, "Leo Valdez."

"Jennifer Johnson." She gulped and shook it, "Are you-"

"Yes, I'm _the _Leo Valdez." I laughed, "You need a ride home?"

"No, it's alright, I live right around here."

"Okay." I smiled. I turned to walk away but Jennifer grabbed my shoulder.

"Thank you, Leo." She smiled.

"No problem." I gave her a somewhat strained smile, unable to hide my disappointment, and started to head to my car. Unfortunately, the media already got there. I swear, they seemed to get here faster than the cops. Well, actually they did. A few seconds later, the cops got here. I was held back by half a dozen reporters and journalists. I quickly pushed through, after the cops got things clear with me, and went back to my car and slipped in.

"Where were you?" Samantha asked startled, "Where were you?"

"Just saving the day." I kissed her lightly on the forehead.

I set the car in gear and headed home.

My meeting with Jennifer brought another series of depression. It reminded me about my loss of Calypso ten years ago. My friends took notice of this immediately as I stopped turning up at work and stayed home. One day, while I was reluctantly finishing some work at home, when Jason called me.

"Hey, Leo, come over to my house, we need to talk."

"Aren't you supposed to be at work?" I complained.

"Don't be hypocritical, get over here, I told my boss I'm sick."

I rolled my eyes and agreed.

Half an hour later, I was at Jason's house.

"What do you want, Jason?"

"Leo, the last time you fell into a state of depression was when Calypso left. Is this about her.

"I guess."

"But I thought you've buried those feelings."

"Well, you know about the girl I saved recently?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I thought she was Calypso when I saw her hair in the dark. After that, every time I saw something that had something to do with Calypso, I start thinking about what happened ten years ago."

"You really need a distraction to set you right. How 'bout you, me, Piper, and Samantha, go on a vacation."

"Where are we going?"

"France."

"Umm… Thanks… You organized a trip just for me?"

"Well, Piper did, but hey, I kind of helped. Leo, we're childhood friends and brothers, I'll do anything for you."

"Fine…" I sighed, "But after my meeting with Google."

The meeting with Google went really well since we had Piper and to top it off, Jason and Piper were paying with their own money. A few days later, the four of us boarded the plane and we set off to vacation in France!

When we got to France, what my friends didn't tell me was that we would spend our first few days, after we get rid of our jet lag, skiing at Les Gets, France. We touched down at the Geneva International Airport. We rented a car and drove to Les Gets. After an hour of alternating drivers because of jet lag, we finally got to our destination. I started to shiver, sneeze, and chatter immediately after I got off the warm confinements of the car.

"S- S- So, whe- where are we stay-aying?" I said through my chattering teeth.

"We're staying at the Portes du Soleil." Piper said excitedly, oblivious of the cold.

Thank goodness Piper speaks French as it would be hard to talk to the bellboy and such. We rented a huge villa, cabin, lodge, or whatever it's called. There were two bedrooms with queen sized beds. The living room had four comfy couches with even comfier pillows. The restroom was a beautiful white with the cabinets made of wood. There was a decently sized hot tub in it, too. The view was amazing, with the snow covered lodges beneath us and the mountains with the powder white trees. The sun reflected off the snow giving it a bright, and some might say a sparkly, quality to the landscape. In the distance we could see skiers snaking down the mountain. It was beautiful. After each taking a bath, we decided to call it a day and go to sleep as we could barely open our eyes. We turned the thermostat up to a proper 28 degrees Celsius (Hey, I'm Texan! **A/N: So am I , Leo!**) and we crashed onto the beds. Samantha snuggled closer to me and gave a content sigh. _This is one hell of a distraction you gave me Jason, Piper, Samantha, thank you._ I thought and closed my eyes, letting sleep gather me in its grasp.

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**A/N: So, there's chapter 17 :D Anyways, hope ya'll liked it! If you didn't, please tell me why :) How much out of 10? Thanks! Stay tuned!**

**Michael out!**


	21. Chapter 18

**A/N: I"m so sorry guys, I'm one day late :( I've been caught up with Skyrim lately haha I have no life :P School's starting for us, hope I still have tim, please read and review, but most importantly, enjoy!**

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Chapter 18

Finally, after getting used to the time zone and some sightseeing, we decided to start to actually ski. After a day learning to ski with the instructor, we decided to start skiing tomorrow afternoon with the morning dedicated to learning with the instructor.

After another delicious dinner, warm bath, and comfortable sleep, I decided to take on a whole mountain. Well, I didn't really decide to take on the mountain.

"Morning babe." I said, sitting up in my bed.

"Morning Leo." Jason said smiling at me.

"GAH!" I fell back and flipped onto the ground, "What the hell man?"

"I love you, too." He laughed and tossed me a sandwich, "Here, eat this, quickly."

Confused, I chowed down, "So what up?"

"Well, c'mere, let me tell you something." Jason gestured to me to come closer.

I inched forward, puzzled. Suddenly, Jason pressed a cloth against my face.

"Nighty night Leo." My one last thought was, _What in the world is-_. Then I blacked out.

I heard voices around me and blinked my eyes. I was on a chair lift.

"What the hell?" I looked right and saw Samantha smiling at me.

"Morning babe." She laughed.

"What's happening?"

"Oh, well, since you were _so good_ yesterday, we decided you should be the first of us to take on a mountain." She laughed at my mask of surprise.

"Aw come on Sam, I'm going to probably die on the way down." I groaned.

"Well, too bad, we're there!" She unbuckled the seat belt and pushed me down. With an oomph, I hit the snow, brought down by my ski gear. Surprisingly, I managed to pick myself up in this century. I saw that Jason, Piper, and Samantha already standing beside me.

"Hey Leo, good nap?" Jason laughed somewhat maniacally.

"I hate you." I grumbled.

The four of us eased our way to the beginning.

"Do I really have to do this?" I asked fearfully.

"Yes you do, that's your only way down!" Piper said, nudging my forward.

"Good luck babe!" Samantha kissed my cheek.

"Oh just go already." Jason said, and being the good friend he was, he pushed me.

I started to gain speed and couldn't stop because I was panicking.

"Don't forget to keep your body low!" Jason shouted after me.

I shouted a string of cusses back, but the wind ripped my voice away. Though I was pissed, I listened to Jason. I started to pick up speed. To be honest, I was actually enjoying this. I liked how the wind whistled past me. Unfortunately, the snow and cold wasn't all that great. I weaved down the mountain, steering clear from the trees. After a few minutes, my scarf started to slip down. I silently cursed as I knew what that meant for me. As I expected, I sneezed. The sneeze threw me off balance and I started to tumble and rolled to a stop. I groaned, thankful that I didn't break any bones. I tried to climb to my feet and succeeded after a few moments. I propelled myself forward and bent low. When I got to the bottom, my friends were already there, waiting for me. They cheered and patted me on the back. As we started to walk back to the lift, we heard a rumbling sound. I turned and saw that a wave of snow was speeding down the mountain.

"Shit!" Jason shouted and started to run, pulling Piper along.

The mass of skiers started to panic, pushing to get out of the way. I started to pull Samantha along when I heard someone scream. I looked back and saw a lone figure on the ground, trying to get up.

"Samantha, go!" I shouted, "I'll catch up with you guys later!"

I threw off my skiing gear and ran towards the person.

"You okay?" I asked.

"I- I think I sprained my ankle." She replied.

I pulled her up, "C'mon, get on my back."

Since she couldn't jump, I had to crouch really low. After she got on my back, I started to go as fast as I could to the group of terrified onlookers. As I ran, I realized we couldn't make it like this. With a last ditch effort, I put her on the ground, picked her up and heaved with all my strength. I probably couldn't have done this when I was younger, but I did pack some muscle through my years in college. She screamed as her ankle was jolted when she hit the ground. She rolled a bit a lay on the ground still. A man rushed forward and started to pull her farther away. I started to run, the ground already rumbling beneath my feet. When the avalanche was but fifty or so meters from me, I jumped forward. A blinding pain shot from my right leg as the wall of snow hit it, breaking some bones. My body spun in the air and hit the ground, knocking the breath out of me and I blacked out from the pain.

I woke up in a hospitable bed for the first time in years. I groaned and sat up, my right leg wrapped in a cast. I got up and saw Samantha, Jason, and Piper sitting there, whispering.

"Hey guys." I croaked, taking a swig of water from a nearby bottle.

"Oh, you're awake." Piper said, startled

"Leo!" Samantha shouted and rushed forward, crashing her lips against mine.

"Mm- Good to see you too, babe." I hugged her.

"Hey, Leo, you would not believe what just happened." Jason said to me excitedly.

"I almost got killed by snow (**A/N: Actually didn't realize this was kind of a reference to HOO haha**), I can take anything right now."

"You remember the girl you saved?"

"Well no duh I remember, what about her?"

"She's Calypso."(**A/N: Note, they didn't recognize eachother earlier because they were wrapped in scarves and coats.**)

I stared at him, mouth open and closing like a fish.

"You heard me buddy, Calypso." Jason laughed at my expression.

"Where is she?"

"She's coming."

I swung my legs over the side, and Samantha rolled a wheelchair to me.

"Thanks Sam." I grunted as I pulled myself onto the wheelchair with the help of my friends.

Someone knocked on the door.

"Come in." I said.

The door slowly creaked open, and in stepped Calypso, my long lost… Well… I don't really know what to call her anymore without feeling guilty. I was speechless, but the tears in my eyes told the message: I was beyond happy.

"Leo…" Calypso staggered towards me, tears welling up in her eyes, too. She rushed forward and hugged me. I felt Samantha stiffen beside me.

"I missed you Calypso." I smiled, not believing what happened. Calypso suddenly grabbed me into a kiss.

"What the hell? Bitch!" Samantha shoved Calypso off of me, "Watch who you kiss!"

"You haven't told her?" I looked at my friends incredulously.

"She was so happy… So we… Yeah." Jason shifted uncomfortably.

"It was his idea, nothing to do with me." Piper pointed accusingly at Jason.

"Calypso, I don't know what to say." I looked at her apologetically.

"Leo, I thought we were…" She sniffled and turned away, "Do you know how many boys went for me in China? I turned every single one of them down. I held them back for you, Leo. I can't believe it. I feel so stupid now, there's nothing such as true love."

She violently wiped her eyes and stalked off.

"Shit…" I groaned.

"I'm sorry, babe, it's just that, I don't like it when other girls do that." Samantha hugged me.

"Whatever, she'll get over it." I put my face in my heads and sighed.

When Samantha left for the restroom, Piper and Jason knelt down beside me.

"You okay, Leo?" Jason looked at me concerned, "Sorry for not telling her sooner."

"Nah, it's alright, I probably wouldn't have seen her if you did." I laughed weakly

"Leo, I have a really important question." Piper looked at me.

"Shoot."

"Do you love Samantha or Calypso?"

"To be honest, I don't know. I did really love Samantha, but I don't know. When I saw Calypso, I woke up feelings I have long buried." I sighed, feeling guilty.

"Are you feeling guilty for loving Calypso and not Samantha or that you gave up on Calypso." Piper said, reading my mind.

"I don't know." I groaned.

"You're just like Annabeth, it hurts to admit that you don't know something." Jason laughed.

"Well, it really is annoying when I know pretty much everything science and math related, but I don't even know a thing about myself or socializing. So, everything aside, when can I get out?"

"Well, the doctor says you can just leave when you want to, but in a two month's time, you need to go to the hospital for a monthly check up." Piper informed me.

"Well, let's wait for Sam and get going." I smiled.

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**A/N:Well, that's chapter 18! How much out of 10? Happy that Calypso's back? If you like the plot, remember, credit goes to PurpleShadow73! Stay tuned!**

**Michael out!**


	22. Update: No update on Saturday!

**A/N: Sorry, I won't be updating this saturday because I'll be going on a vacation with my family for the mid-autumn festival (A chinese holiday) So the next update will be on erm... I guess on Wednesday! Terribly sorry for the inconvenience! Stay tuned! Please don't kill me :)**


	23. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

**A/N: Attention: this is a short chapter because I will still be updating this Saturday(Also my birthday, yay!)! Hope you'll like this chapter! Pleas eread and review, but most importantly, enjoy!**

I sat with Samantha in my room(**A/N: Best opening**).

"I'm going to take a shower, babe." Samantha got up and went into the showers.

Not long after the sound of water slapping against skin started, the doorbell rang. I wheeled myself over and unlocked the door.

"Come in yourself, I'm crippled!" I said, rolling backwards.

"Hey, Leo, Calypso wants to talk to you." Jason said, standing at the door.

"Where is she?"

"In my room, come on." Jason grabbed the handles of my wheelchair and raced down the hall, as if we were kids. He opened the door and pushed me in. Calypso sat on one of the sofa chairs, looking a bit glum.

"Hey." I said tentatively. I mean, she was pretty pissed at me earlier!

"Hey, Leo." She smiled, also seemingly tentatively, "I'm sorry for what happened today."

"Nah, it's alright." I smiled, happy that she wasn't mad at me, or at least she didn't slap me., "Sorry about Samantha, by the way."

"It's alright."

An awkward silence settled between us that saddened me.

"So, where do you live now, Calypso?"

"My dad's staying in China since he already has a stable job there. I'm moving to Manhattan soon."

"We live there, too!"

"I- I should get going, guys. And Calypso… I'm sorry." I said, preparing to leave.

"Sorry about what?" She said in a somewhat teasing tone, bringing hope that we might be able to grow close again.

"Everything." I said happily, yet ruefully.

I wheeled myself back to my room.

The rest of the vacation went pretty well. We concluded the rest of it by going sightseeing with Calypso and her dad, much to Samantha's annoyance. Piper, Jason, and I got re-acquainted with the Razis. To be honest, Sam's annoyance was justifiable because I spent more time with Calypso than her. After returning home, I realized one thing. The fact that we met Calypso, completely defeats the purpose of the trip: Forget Calypso. In fact, it provided me the opposite effect, I was stuck in an state of emotional indecision.

After we got back to Manhattan, life went by pretty regularly. A month before Calypso was to move here, I made a decision.

"Samantha? You there?" I asked, edging open the door to our room.

"Yeah babe?" She looked up from her book.

"Listen, I- I don't really know how to put this… I…" I faltered, scared all of a sudden.

"Leo? What's wrong?" She marked her page and put down her book.

"I…" I groaned internally, as you can see, eloquence isn't my strong side, "I can't be your boyfriend anymore."

"What? Why? Oh god…" She said, her hand over her mouth, shaking her head, "IS IT BECAUSE OF CALYPSO?! HUH?! I THOUGHT YOU LOVED ME, BUT ALL THIS TIME, YOU LOVED CALYPSO!"

"Samantha, I- I just don't think it's fair for you. I mean, I did love you, I still do, but not in that way anymore. It's not fair for you if I pretended that I'm still in love with you…"

"But why, Leo?" She started to tear up, "Why do you love her and not me?"

"It's a long story…"

"Well tell me!"

"Sam-"

"No! just tell me!"

"Fine! Calypso and I, we've been through so much together before she left. We've been in life and death situations together!"

"So what? Why is she better than me?"

"You won't get it! Only a person who has been pushed to his mental and emotional limits will understand this!"

"You know what? Fine! Be with her! Just don't come crawling back when something happens!" She said, standing up and pushed past me, presumably to pack her stuff.

_Third Person_

Leo lay on the couch, having given up his bed for the night for Samantha. Well, he did break her heart! Unbeknownst to Leo, Samantha was up and packing her things up. She quickly scrawled a note and put it on the coffee table. She opened the door, hauling two suitcases of her belongings. Before leaving, she looked back at Leo, a tear rolling down her cheek, "Leo… You probably don't know it, but I still love you…" She was about to close the door when she heard a familiar voice. "Farewell Samantha." Festus said. Samantha stifled a sob and quickly closed the door.

When I woke up, I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. I looked down at my lap, drinking in what happened last night. I looked up and started to stand up, but a piece of paper caught my eyes. I picked it up and unfolded it. _Oh god,_ I thought, _it's a letter from Samantha!_ I started to read it.

_Dear Leo,_

_You can probably tell that I already left. I'm crashing at a friends place for a while then I'll go buy an apartment. I hope that just because we aren't in a relationship anymore doesn't mean we can't be friends._

_Love,_

_Samantha_

I noticed that the paper was smudge, probably from her tears. I closed my eyes and leaned back, not sure what to feel at this point in my life.

**A/N: There you go! Chapter 19! Did you like it? How much out of 10? If you didn't like it, please tell me how to improve! Thanks! Stay tuned!**

**Michael out!**


	24. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

**A/N: Again, sorry for the short chapter, but there are 2 reasons. 1. Double chapter this week. 2. Writer's block is a dick :( Anyways, please don't hate me, but it's hard for me right now to crank out ideas. Hope you enjoy.**

I knocked on Jason's door and stood there waiting. After I broke up with Samantha, I didn't hear from her for a while. The door opened after a few clicks of a lock opening.

"Hey, Leo!" Jason said smiling.

"Hey Jason…" I said, "I need some help or rather Piper's I don't think you know much in this field."

"Gee, thanks." He winced, "Come on in."

I plopped down on a sofa and sighed.

"Piper! Leo's here!"

A few moments later, Piper hurried out of her and Jason's room.

"Hey Leo, sup?"

"You know how I recently broke up with Samantha?"

"Yeah, she crashed at our place for a few days."

"And you didn't tell me?!" I asked incredulously.

"Really Leo? You think she'll want you to know where she is?" She arched an eyebrow, sitting down with Jason.

"Right, I knew that. Anyways, you _do _know why I broke up with her, right?"

"Yep, and to be honest, it was pretty horrible of you, but hey, it's too late."

"So…?"

"No, you definitely don't want to get with Calypso you idiot! You just broke up! How can you be so dense!" Piper shouted, exasperated.

"I know…" I sighed.

"You should take a break from all this love stuff."

"Alright, you're the expert Piper."

I completely isolated myself from that point on. My friends tried to contact me, but I told them I was busy. I mean, I'm really busy on a new project, but I wanted time alone to collect my thoughts. I've always worked best on my own. After a week, I finally came out of my shell.

Everyone was happy to see Calypso. I For one was overjoyed, yet I felt guilty for feeling happy. After another week or so, Samantha suddenly came back, acting as if nothing has happened. Though the air was still tense between us, we still managed to be next to each other without anything weird happening. Another week passed and I called Piper.

"Hey Piper."

"Sup Leo."

"You think it's…"

"Leo, it really seems like you never loved Samantha."

"Aw c'mon, Piper, you know it's not like that. I just don't want to hurt her because I love someone else more."

"Oh alright, I suppose it's long enough to not seem like a completely asshole, maybe around 50%."  
"Rolling my eyes right now beauty queen. Thanks anyways, see ya!"

"Bye, Leo."

I knocked on Calypso's door after a few minutes, wiping my forehead free of sweat.

"Hey Leo." Calypso said after flinging open the door.

"Hey Calypso. So I was wondering if you wanted to… uh… go to that Chinese place down the street with me?"

"Leo… I- I'm sorry. I just can't."

"Why not? Did you get another boyfriend? I thought you said you were waiting for me!"

"That's the reason Leo! I don't really feel the same way anymore!"

"So that's it? That's how it's going to end between us?"

"In my defense, you started this. Nonetheless, I'm sorry Leo, but I just don't feel the same way anymore." With that, she closed the door in my face.

**A/N: Well, there's chapter 20! What did you think? How much out of 10? Please tell me in the reviews! Thank you and stay tuned.**

**Michael out!**


	25. Chapter 21

**A/N: Sorry for another short chapter, but writer's block is really annoying and I really have to go study, I have three tests tomorrow, haha. Anyways, I'm throwing the updating schedules out the window because I don't like to have deadlines. Hope you like this chapter!**

Chapter 21

I trudged home, utterly dejected, wondering what I did wrong. I went home and popped open a beer, wondering what I'm doing with my love life. Despite being rejected, I still wanted to be friends with Calypso. If you really do love and care about someone, you would want to be friends after getting rejected, unless they are a really asshole, but Calypso isn't. I sighed and leaned back in my recliner.

"Would you like some music, Leo?" Festus asked me, ever so politely.

"Sure, thanks."

Sad music streamed out of the speakers located in the perfect acoustic locations.

"Really, Festus? Sad music?"

"I'm sorry, Leo, I'm merely trying to fit the mood." I swear Festus almost seems sentient at times. The music immediately changed to a happier tune.

I started to put the finishing touches on my project. THe project that I started when I had shrunk into a shell earlier. It was extremely advanced in comparison to what the other companies were developing. It required a personality chip; not unsimilar to the one I made for Festus.

A few weeks later, my friends wanted to have a gathering. We decided to go to a restaurant after my expo. My newest product was a robot steward called Buford. I hopped into my Argo II which was upgraded to be connected to Festus. We went to a Mexican restaurant to escape the formality of the expo.

"Where's Rachel?" I asked when I sat down.

"Oh, she said she couldn't come today, something about work." Piper said, chowing down on her burrito.

"Pity, the foods great." Percy said, already on his fifth taco; we only just got our food seven minutes ago.

"You'll eat anything, Seaweed Brain." Annabeth snorted.

"Eh… It's ok." Calypso poked at her food, then finally taking a few bites.

"You don't like Mexican?" Jason laughed, wolfing down his food as if he was competing with Percy, in fact, I think he was. Before anyone could say anything, a gunshot was immediately followed by the shattering of the window beside us. Everyone in the restaurant screamed, ducking underneath there tables.

"Everyone get out and on the ground. Put your hands on your head!" A masked man shouted.

"Shit!" Nico said, grabbing Thalia's hand. Being terrified of violence, Grover and Juniper kind of just whimpered. I almost grabbed Calypso to make sure she was ok.

"Everyone toss your wallet and phone and toss it to me!" The man commanded.

The sound of wallets and phones sliding across the ground cut off the whimpering and crying people. Another masked man came into the restaurant to collect the stuff. The former man slowly started to back out of the room, but stopped when he caught sight of Calypso.

"Hey, you there, stand up."

Calypso stood up, shaking.

"Come over here."

She walked forward, rubbing her hands against her arms.

"Well well, aren't you a beauty." The man grabbed Calypso roughly, pulling her against his body, touching her.

The other man came back to see what was taking so long.

"Come on, man, just leave her, I don't want to be charged for kidnapping." The second man said, annoyed.

"Aww come one, just this once."

The second man sighed and muttered under his breath, "Fine bring her!"

The men started to leave. Calypso screamed and kicked, trying to struggle free.

I crept forward, trying to not make a , I was still wearing my dress shoes. The man without Calypso spun around and aimed his gun at me.

"Stop." He commanded, hands shaking slightly. It was evident he has never shot someone before. I ran forward, eyes on his fingers. When his index finger was about to tighten, I slid on the ground, knocking him over. He crawled back to his feet and shot blindly. His first shot grazed my arm. His next shot hit me in the abdomen and I went down. Everything blacked out when he knocked me out with the butt of his gun.

_Third Person_

The sound of sirens started to come nearer and nearer. The two men started to panic. They ran from the restaurant and lept into their truck, speeding away. A few seconds later, a few police cars sped after the criminals. Another two pulled up beside the store along with an ambulance. The paramedics rushed over to check on Leo, shouting orders. The quickly lifted him up and set him on a gurney, wheeling him onto the ambulance and then sped away.

"Holy shit." Jason said, breaking the shocked silence among the group.

"Leo…" Calypso cried, shaking.

Piper bent down to soothe her while the other people sat down, still shocked. One of the phones rang, a phone that wasn't originally slid across the floor, a phone that belonged to the criminals. Annabeth went over and picked it up.

"Guys. Come look at this."

Everyone gathered around Annabeth along with an officer.

"It says client."

"Answer it, we can track it's signal"

Annabeth answered the call and everyone waited.

"Jim? Jim? Did you do it? Is she dead?" came out a familiar voice. A voice from a person who Leo thought he could forget about.

**A/N: Aww yeah, cliffhanger! Tell me in the reviews who you think it is? Could it be... nah, I'll let you guess, haha. Anyways, did you like this chapter? How much out of 10? Please tell me how to improve! Stay tuned!**

**Michael out!**


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